


paper lanterns

by lonelyph



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Burning Rescue Lio Fotia, Canon Universe, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Galo Thymos Being an Idiot, Galo Thymos Is Good With Kids, Getting Together, Haircuts, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Lio Fotia Is Very Soft Around Galo Thymos, Living Together, M/M, Motorcycles, Post-Canon, Spoilers, Tiny and Pretty Lio Fotia, emotionally intelligent galo thymos supremacy everyone, fucking four straight nights awake chanting promare fic promare fic promare fic promare fic, galo is the embodiment of head empty heart full, galos actually quite smart, i love galolio so very much, learning to feel at home, lio and remi supremacy btw, lio steals galos shirts, theres a beautiful scene and, this is friends to lovers right
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:27:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25619623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonelyph/pseuds/lonelyph
Summary: "If it bugs you so much, why don't you just get a haircut?" Galo asks."Oh." Lio mumbles. "I've never really cut my hair before."orLio Fotia wants a haircut.In the process of admitting he wants short hair for the first time in his life, he learns how to love—he learns how to accept it, how to give it, and how to feel at home again.Galo Thymos is there to teach him.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 31
Kudos: 124





	1. The Distinction Between Objectivity and Subjectivity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pigeonarchives](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pigeonarchives/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ice cream, string lights, and braids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello : D,
> 
> so, i saw [this](https://twitter.com/pume_maru/status/1284044936782872576) beautiful fanart of short hair galolio and got to thinking,,,,, lios probably never had time for a real haircut, or short hair, because hes been leading the mad burnish all this time, so maybe i can attach some emotions to that and unpack some feelings ??? and here we are
> 
> please go show the artist some love : DD
> 
> ill be posting quite quickly since most of the fic is basically written, enjoy : D.

“Why are you staring at the mirror?” 

“Why are you still insisting I live here when I’ve saved more than enough for the average down payment for an apartment around here?” Lio bites back so quickly it sounds rehearsed. 

“It’s nice not living alone,” Galo says. “It’s too quiet without you.” 

He shamefully watches himself in the mirror as his cheeks betray him and go pink, right then and there—and Lio’s heard the line a million times already, but of course this still happens. After maybe the seventh time he'd gotten tired of calling Galo an idiot having heard enough of ‘the world’s number one firefighting idiot!’ in response. “Yeah, yeah,” he says, waving Galo off with a nimble hand. “You know I’m still paying back everything from the first couple months right?” 

“But Lio,” Galo whines, dragging out Lio’s name, and he can hear the pout in his voice. 

“Ugh, get off me,” he says when Galo comes into the mirror, draping himself over Lio’s shoulders. “It’s too hot in here, didn’t you close the windows before you came to bed last night?” 

Galo stares at him in the mirror. “It’s obvious I didn’t, you don’t have to ask.” 

“Did me asking make you feel bad?” 

“Yeah.” 

Lio smiles proudly. “Then I have to ask.” 

Galo playfully sticks his tongue out at him, finally peeling away and heading off to the kitchen. 

Lio pauses for a moment, looking himself up and down in contemplation before pulling off his gloves. He brushes his fingers through his hair, pulling it into a tail. 

“You missed some,” Galo pipes up. 

“Huh?” 

“You missed some hair. Why are you tying it anyway, you never do that.” 

He pauses, lips pursed as he contemplates what to say to Galo. “It’s just,” he tentatively begins. “...getting a little long, I guess.” He feels around his neck, finding the loose strand Galo pointed out before tying it back up. “We don’t happen to have any clips or pins, do we?” 

“For your bangs?” 

“Yeah.” 

“No. We can pick some up on the way to work though, if you want.” Then, Galo’s standing beside him again. “Lemme see,” he says, and Lio turns to him. “You look great!” 

Lio feels his cheeks warm yet again, hands itching to cover his face now that his hair doesn’t hide it, and, well shit, maybe tying it was a bad idea. “It’s just my hair,” he says, turning away. 

“But I never see it out of your face, you look so cute!” 

“Galo!” he can’t help but scold at Galo’s retreating form, more warmth pooling in his stomach. 

“I don’t even think you need to pin your bangs back, it looks great like that! I mean, unless you really want to.” 

Lio picks at his hair, pushing his bangs back, then letting them fall, then pushing them back again, studying how he looks each time. “It looks good with them down?” 

“Yeah!” 

“Alright,” he sighs, letting them fall. “I believe you, I’ll leave it.” He finally straightens, nodding once at his form, before finally turning to Galo. He’s leaning over the counter, a spoon in his mouth and a tub dripping water onto the counter right in front of him. “Are you having ice cream right now?” he asks, raising his eyebrows bemusedly. 

“Yeah, want some?” 

“No? It’s six in the morning.” 

Galo dips his spoon into the tub again. “It’s also hot. You said it yourself.” 

And Lio does indeed feel quite sweaty, and he kind of really wants ice cream to cool off. 

“So? Want some?” 

And after less than a second of contemplation, Lio shrugs, walking over to the counter to accept the spoon Galo holds out for him. He goes directly into the tub just as Galo had, and they proceed to enjoy their healthy breakfast. 

Lio thinks back to the first time—in a really, really long time—he’d had ice cream. It was a couple weeks after he moved in with Galo. Winter was just settling over the city, a chill establishing itself in the apartment, and yet, the tub was in a bag of groceries Galo had just bought. Against his better judgement, Lio pulled out a spoon and did just as today, having the slightly softer cream right out of the tub. 

It was that very night an unexpected guest knocked on the door—it was men from a furniture store. Galo had called to dismantle his twin bed and have a queen built in its place. When Lio asked why, he’d said it was to fit the both of them, instead of Lio asking to sleep on the floor every night and subsequently being dragged to bed anyway. Lio doesn’t mention how grateful he’d been for Galo’s presence so close to him on the smaller bed—his body heat and the safety of being beside him, really—and opts for inching closer every night on the new one. 

And then it was the next morning when they both got up extra early to drop the old bed off to a small second hand furniture warehouse. 

At the time, Lio had nothing to offer. He had nothing to give Galo in return, and yet, Galo had not only given him a place to live and food on the table, but gone the extra mile on more than one occasion. 

Lio’s eyes flicker to the plants around the living room. Galo bought them when Lio mentioned how, when he was young, he used to help his mom with their small indoor garden . 

Then his gaze lands on the curtains. Galo replaced the flimsy cotton curtains with blackout ones all over the apartment, and when Lio asked why, he said ‘I noticed you sleep a lot better when it’s super dark, so I thought this might help’. Lio had to cut their conversation off, then, running off to the restroom. 

He looks down at the spoon he’s holding, thinking back to the day they went shopping together for all new kitchenware. Galo had said that, since he lived alone, he hadn’t really paid attention to the lack of actual cutlery or cooking materials he had, so he thought they could pick out a kitchenware set they liked together, and get other things that might be useful, like an actual home would have. 

“Lio.” 

Lio startles. “Y-yeah?” 

“We gotta go, you want some real breakfast or something? You’re still licking your spoon,” Galo says, pointing to the action with big eyes and a concerned gaze. 

Lio finds that the spoon is, indeed, still in his mouth, and finally pulls it out. “Just thinking,” he says, trying to sound casual. “And I’ll eat at work anyway. Let’s go.” After putting the ice cream back in the freezer, he tosses Galo his shirt, grabbing his own fireman’s jacket as well as the keys. “I’ll drive.” 

It feels nice to say that so casually. 

Despite parading the streets of Promepolis on Detroit for years on end, it wasn’t as though he had a license of any sort, let alone the chance to obtain one. His name had been associated with that of the Mad Burnish for almost as long as he can remember, and he’d been deemed a criminal—not really the grounds for walking into a government building and asking for a test. 

In the car, Galo asks exactly what Lio doesn’t want to answer. “What were you thinkin’ about so hard?” 

“You.” He doesn't miss a beat saying it, and instead of the blush he hopes he’ll get, Galo remains as unperturbed as he usually does—it’s practically impossible to fluster the guy. Lio tries though. Over and over and over again. Nine months, no success. 

“What about me?” 

For a moment, Lio contemplates not telling the truth, but he doesn't know what he’d say instead. He's sure Galo hasn't lied to him a single time in the past nine months so he'd feel bad if he kept up with his white lies, no matter how embarrassing the truth might be to say. “You did a lot for me…” he mumbles. “...when I first moved in. Just kinda… started thinkin’ about that. Those first few months.” 

It’s silent for a moment. The light ahead turns yellow. 

“I didn’t do anything.” 

Lio slams on the breaks, sending the both of them lurching forward, and then he gives Galo an incredulous look. A second later, the look is paired with a laugh of sorts. “I mean, can we start with giving me a place to live?” he says, hands gesturing wildly and brows furrowed. “Not to mention it wasn’t just a place, it was your very own home.” 

“You needed a place to live!” Galo reasons loudly. 

“There were shelters for the Burnish.” 

“I couldn’t let our new member of the Burning Rescue stay in a shelter! What if you thought we weren’t treating you well and you quit?” 

Lio glares at him, a mix of confusion and disbelief in his eyes. “Are you an idiot?” And someone behind them honks aggressively. Lio looks up to a green light and hastily begins driving again, trying to ignore how flustered he is. 

“For the record, I am an idiot.” Galo says candidly. 

Lio shakes his head. “Galo, I have a criminal record with _terrorism_ and _arson_ on it. And you gave me a job,” he says, voice louder with every word. “Why would I not accept it? My job could have been shining your matoi every day and I’d have been more than grateful.” 

____Galo looks taken aback, then. “What kind of job is that? Lucia would totally make you shine her tools instead.”_ _ _ _

____Lio’s eyes narrow. “That was not the point of what I said, Galo.”_ _ _ _

____“Then what’s the point?”_ _ _ _

____Lio wants to facepalm, but he has to watch the road. Instead, his knuckles go white, hands clenched as tightly as possible around the wheel. “The point was, you did a lot for me. And that includes inviting me into your home, buying carpets when I said the floor got cold at night, slippers for the bathroom when I said the tile was always cold, and switching your bulbs to yellow lights when I said they reminded me of the string lights at my favourite camp. That stuff, Galo,” he says, all at once and much too loud._ _ _ _

____He finally pauses to catch his breath, and his toes curl in his boots. “You didn’t have to do any of that. Even just a roof over my head and a couch was good,” Lio continues, words tumbling out from between his lips before he can register what he’s saying. “But—but then you bought me a whole wardrobe you won’t even let me pay you back for, and you took me to restaurants to find out my favourite foods and then you went and learned to cook some of them. How is that nothing? How?!” And goodness, he didn't mean to say it. He didn’t mean to say any of it._ _ _ _

____He's never talked about this with Galo before._ _ _ _

____Never once._ _ _ _

____It never came up._ _ _ _

____Lio has always felt indebted to Galo, and couldn’t once muster up the courage to actually express his gratitude. And it’s because every damn time Galo did something for him and Lio said it wasn’t necessary, Galo went ahead anyway with a big dumb smile on his face. So, he always silently accepted._ _ _ _

____But Galo saying he did nothing? Thinking what he's done over the past near-year was nothing? It didn't sit right with Lio, so the words had come tumbling out._ _ _ _

____“I just did normal stuff, Lio,” Galo tries to explain. “When the bathroom tile is too cold, people buy slippers for the bathroom, so we got some slippers. That’s all.”_ _ _ _

____“And the lights?” Lio says, shaking his head aggressively. “You already had lights. You just changed them all completely unprompted the day after I told you that story.”_ _ _ _

____“Lio.” Galo places a hand on Lio’s shoulder, thumb comfortingly running over the dip at his shoulder-blade. “People make changes to their house to make it feel more home-y. We just did that.”_ _ _ _

____“But it’s your house Galo,” he says, putting emphasis on the ‘your’. “You didn’t have to do that stuff.”_ _ _ _

____Galo removes his hand then. “You always say that.”_ _ _ _

____“What?” Lio snaps impatiently. He decides he no longer likes having this conversation. It’s not as though he wanted to have it to begin with anyway._ _ _ _

____“‘You don’t have to do that stuff,’” Galo repeats. “That’s so weird. Who doesn't change up stuff in their house?”_ _ _ _

____“Galo.”_ _ _ _

____“What?”_ _ _ _

____“It’s your house.”_ _ _ _

____“It’s your house, too, Lio.”_ _ _ _

____Lio is silent at this, and for the life of him he can’t find words to say in the mess his head is. He hasn’t cried in ages, but he kind of feels like he wants to right now. “What?” he repeats, and the whisper of a word is almost lost to the whir of the engine._ _ _ _

____“It’s not like you crashed with me for a night,” Galo continues, as if he hadn’t just broken a piece of Lio. “You live there. That makes it your house too.”_ _ _ _

____“But—”_ _ _ _

____“You pay half the rent and utilities too, and you buy groceries, and you keep giving me money for the months you didn’t pay too. I think that also makes it your house.” Then he pauses, and Lio wonders if, for the first time, Galo has stopped to think carefully about the words he chooses. “When I say ‘let’s go home,’” he finally begins. “I mean that for you too.”_ _ _ _

____And, yeah, Lio really feels like he's about to cry. He can feel his lip quiver, so he gives up on talking, and then the heat on his face makes it to his eyes and he feels them fill. He blinks rapidly to clear them—he’s driving after all—but the tears decide to pour, and he knows Galo is looking at him and he knows Galo can see the tears in full view because his damn hair is tied back._ _ _ _

____Today, of all days, he tied it back._ _ _ _

____It’s not even that Galo said anything super profound. Lio knows Galo means what he says in the most innocent way possible—he’s not thinking about how Lio hasn't had a home in almost a decade, no, he’d never do that, he’ll just say what he wants._ _ _ _

____He's so pure that way, so innocently kind, and Lio can't help his tears when he thinks about that._ _ _ _

____Thankfully, Galo doesn't say anything for the rest of the ride, and it reminds him of that night, eleven days after he'd moved in, and told Galo the story about the yellow string lights._ _ _ _

____It was that night he’d learned Galo had a quiet voice—not just an inside voice, no—it was a really nice voice, one he'd never heard before, and it sounded like comfort itself._ _ _ _

____It was the voice he used to tell Lio about the time he’d seen Christmas lights for the first time, and wondered if maybe, by any chance, the feeling could have been the same—if maybe he could understand how Lio felt with the yellow lights. And the silence that followed, well, Galo isn't one for silence._ _ _ _

____After a car-ride that feels triple the length of their usual travel time, they finally arrive at the station, and the moment Lio steps out of the car, he’s bumping into Galo’s stupidly big body, face bombarded with a freezing towel. “Ah- Galo!” he remarks in surprise. Although, he begrudgingly admits to himself that the towel feels nice in the heat. “Ugh, you idiot, what are you doing?”_ _ _ _

____Galo finally yields when Lio almost trips, and when the towel comes off, Lio’s faced with his bright grin. “Much better!”_ _ _ _

____Lio grimaces. “What’s better?”_ _ _ _

____“Your face!”_ _ _ _

____“What?” he says, not knowing if he should be offended._ _ _ _

____Then, Galo leans down, lowering his voice. “You don’t want them asking why you were crying, right?” His giant smile is still in full force._ _ _ _

____Lio, albeit flustered, smiles back in thanks, taking the cold towel gratefully to continue pressing it to his eyes._ _ _ _

____When they finally walk in, there are especially animated responses from Aina and Remi about his hair—though one was praising and the other teasing. Lio might have taken offense, maybe taken out the band holding his hair together and flick it at him, but Galo complimented it earlier, so he pays no mind._ _ _ _

____It's during lunch that he finally sees Meis and Guiera, and he has to physically push them when they huddle around him and won't shut up about it._ _ _ _

____The day passes as it usually would._ _ _ _

____Today was a shorter shift for Lio, whose project for the next week was to prepare lessons and presentations they would use when visiting community centres and schools to teach kids about fire safety and the job of the Burning Rescue._ _ _ _

____He and Remi were to do the presentations together since they looked the least intimidating, but Remi had other business to attend to, so the actual preparations were left up to Lio._ _ _ _

____When he’d been assigned to it by the captain, he briefly wondered if it was his place to ask why Galo wasn’t being recruited for it, considering how friendly he was—he’d ultimately decided against it._ _ _ _

____He didn’t like mentioning it, but he feels indebted to the captain as well. He’d appointed Lio as the second in command in the Burnish Rehabilitation Project, thinking their old leader, Lio, would know best how to care for the former Burnish citizens. It’s an ongoing project, but the most grueling work—rescuing and finding shelters for all of them—had been taken care of in the first couple months._ _ _ _

____The captain said he trusted Lio to do a good job with his own people, and it would be a good project to get a new recruit used to the job, but Lio knew that was just the official statement he’d put on reports. Underneath those words, he was giving Lio the chance to care for his people where he failed while on the run—it was giving Lio a chance to make sure his people were treated justly instead of dealt with through bias and hate._ _ _ _

____And so, he felt indebted, and would rarely find himself opposing anything the man asked of him. He supposes he could ask Galo himself, later, why he wasn't on the job._ _ _ _

____Making the presentations is fairly easy, given his quickly improved computer literacy—also considering they were being made to appeal to kids with bright eyes and big dreams, and seeing as his current project was this easy, imagine his irritation at having a raging headache._ _ _ _

____He knew it wasn't because of the screen, if staring at his phone all day waiting for Galo to get back from his 24-hour-shift is anything to go by, so he has no idea what's happening. He decides to head to the break room, taking an Advil and plopping into the closest seat._ _ _ _

____He must be a noise magnet, because Aina and Remi join, and not a moment later, Galo and Lucia follow them too. “Did you guys just get back from a call or something?” he wonders, voice muffled from where his cheek is squished against the table._ _ _ _

____“Galo and I just finished tuning up his gear,” Lucia says. “We were testing some stuff at his favourite ice lake.”_ _ _ _

____“Hey!” Galo says, sounding almost offended. “I told you, it might be the ice lake but it’s not ice because it's a real lake now!” he whines. Lucia just waves him off._ _ _ _

____“I know we have more time on our hands,” Remi pipes up. “But you’ve just been wasting time the past nine months tuning a machine we’ll likely never use again.”_ _ _ _

____“Hey! You never know.” Galo says, actually offended._ _ _ _

____“So, Lio. You think any Burnish will be burning down the city anytime soon?”_ _ _ _

____Lio lifts his head a bit, smiling apologetically at Galo. “They’re just preparing for the next overlap of alternate dimensions that might result in a fire-based alien inhabiting the Earth’s core and syncing with peoples bodies and wills again, I’m sure it wasn’t a once-in-the-entire-universe’s-lifetime thing.”_ _ _ _

____“Yeah! See? Lio agrees!”_ _ _ _

____Lio’s smile drops, and so does his head back to the table, loudly. “Ugh.”_ _ _ _

____“What’s got you all worked up?” Lucia asks._ _ _ _

____“I have the world’s biggest headache, so if you guys could keep it down,” he pleads._ _ _ _

____“You don’t know why?” Aina asks, patting his head softly._ _ _ _

____Well, Aina sounds like she knows why, and that piques Lio’s interest. He pops up like a bunny, staring at her with big eyes. “No, do you?”_ _ _ _

____“It’s the hair, baby.” Lucia butts in._ _ _ _

____Lio's head snaps to her. “Huh?”_ _ _ _

____“You pulled it tight today which you’re not used to at all. Puts pressure on the head.” Aina explains._ _ _ _

____Lio turns to her, mouth agape. “Are you serious?” he asks, disbelieving something so dumb could be the cause of the stupid pounding in his temples._ _ _ _

____“Just don’t pull it as taught next time, or wrap the tie one-few times,” she suggests with a wave, leaving to follow Remi for some report thing._ _ _ _

____Lio pulls off the band in his hair, using the glass in front of him as his mirror to redo it._ _ _ _

____Lucia leaves for her own tinkering, and from the corner of his eye, he sees Galo plop down across from him, eating some kind of sweet that had been on the counter._ _ _ _

____Lio finds that pulling his hair less taught is difficult since he has a lot of it, and it’s a little puffy, so he redoes it again, this time tying it one-few times as suggested. Instead of working, the hair falls too loose and the ends tickle his neck._ _ _ _

____So, he pulls off the band, shoots it at Galo’s chest, then proceeds to flop his pounding head back on the table._ _ _ _

____Galo, of course, laughs at Lio. But, he hears the scraping of a chair, footsteps, and then big hands are running through his hair. “Can I try?” Galo asks, so innocently, so sweetly._ _ _ _

____Lio lifts his head, slowly, cautious. Will he be able to handle the feeling of Galo’s hands in his hair? He sighs. Might as well find out. “Yeah. Go ahead,” he mumbles with a wave of the hand._ _ _ _

____It feels great, he realizes._ _ _ _

____Galo is strong. His movements always carry weight, and his fingers are no different—his touch is light but firm, so it feels more like a head massage than Galo simply collecting all his hair, and for the brief minute it lasts, Lio closes his eyes and feels the pounding lessen. Then Galo’s pulling it back into the band._ _ _ _

____“How’s that?” And Lio can practically hear the big dumb smile on his face._ _ _ _

____He feels around his head, finding all his hair smoothed down with no flyaways or bumps, and pleasantly finds it isn’t as tight as before. A smile grows on his own lips as he turns to look up at Galo. “Yeah, that’s great. Thanks, Galo.”_ _ _ _

____•••_ _ _ _

____Today, Galo and Lio get off work at the same time._ _ _ _

____Lio drives, and Galo doesn’t ask questions._ _ _ _

____It’s after they’ve showered and eaten and Lio’s lazing on the couch, though, that he does._ _ _ _

____“Hey, how come you still have your hair like that?” he asks. Lio gives him a quizzical look, hand going up to run through said hair. “I thought it was just a work thing.” Galo continues. “Like it got in your face while you did stuff or something.”_ _ _ _

____“Can’t it get in my face while I do stuff outside of work?”_ _ _ _

____“Yeah, but, your headaches. Don’t you wanna take it off at home so that doesn’t happen?” Galo asks, confusion and concern in his expression._ _ _ _

____‘Home’ is what Lio notices._ _ _ _

____Ever since Galo mentioned what he did in the car, Lio has been fixated on all the times Galo called the apartment ‘home’. He meant home as in for the both of them, all this time._ _ _ _

____He sighs, deciding he doesn't have the energy to keep up with Galo’s very sensible questioning and answer truthfully. He pulls out the band, leaving it on his wrist and secretly relieved the light pound isn’t there anymore, though he misses having the hair out of his face already. “Oh, by the way.”_ _ _ _

____“Hm?” Galo says plopping onto the couch next to him. The sheer weight of his person makes Lio bounce up a bit as he sits, and he settles a bit closer to Galo._ _ _ _

____“Where’d you learn to do people’s hair?”_ _ _ _

____Galo turns to meet his eye as they talk. “You know the presentations you’re doing?” he asks, continuing when Lio nods. “I was the newest recruit before you, so those were my job with Remi. Some of the little girls would always ask me to do their hair, so I kinda had to figure it out.”_ _ _ _

____“That’s cute,” Lio says, smiling. “You seem like you’d be great with kids.”_ _ _ _

____“They tend like it when you can pick up three of them at once even though they’re already like ten years old.”_ _ _ _

____Lio giggles at the very Galo sounding behaviour, leaning his arm on the back of the couch to face the man. “Hey, about the presentations,” he begins. “You’re not doing them anymore because it’s a new recruit thing? The Captain told me I didn’t look that intimidating so he thought I’d be a good choice.”_ _ _ _

____“He says that to everyone when he gives them the job.”_ _ _ _

____“You too?”_ _ _ _

____“Yep.”_ _ _ _

____“Varys too?” Lio asks with raised brows._ _ _ _

____“Yep, but you can imagine how many people believed that,” Galo says with a grin._ _ _ _

____“Couldn’t you ask to keep doing it?” Lio asks, picking at the edges of his bangs. “I think it’s a good fit for you. The kids like you and you're good at talking to people, and… making them believe you, y’know?” He fidgets a little, having been describing the way he sees Galo more than the way he thinks the kids see Galo._ _ _ _

____“I could do it. I don’t have any other assignments the week the presentations are scheduled. But I don’t know if Captain’ll approve.”_ _ _ _

____“I was just asking,” Lio says, quickly shaking his head in dismissal. “It’s only if you want to, you don't have to do anything.”_ _ _ _

____“Of course I want to! I love kids, I could totally do it with you. Remi’s a little jerk anyway, he never let me have any fun.”_ _ _ _

____Lio raises his eyebrows. “Did your fun include letting kids onto a firetruck?”_ _ _ _

____“Maybe.”_ _ _ _

____“I think that’s why,” he laughs._ _ _ _

____“No!” Galo pouts. “One time, I was just braiding hair, well,” he pauses, now mumbling. “I was doing it badly so I guess it was taking a lot of time while seven little people all tried to teach me how all at once, but then Remi made us leave! I mean, I know the kids still have a class or whatever but they all got so upset!” he remarks, genuinely unsettled by the situation. “Who could deny all those cute sad faces?”_ _ _ _

____“Remi, apparently.”_ _ _ _

____Galo rolls his eyes. “One time,” he starts, excitedly straightening up. “Some kid ran up and stole his glasses. Remi lost his mind. The kid got up and ran all around the pavement while Remi and the teacher chased him.”_ _ _ _

____“Are you serious?” Lio asks, breaking into a loud laugh._ _ _ _

____Galo—big-eyed and wide-grinned—nods quickly. “The whole class was cheering ‘cause apparently he was the fastest runner in their grade, it was great.”_ _ _ _

____Lio shakes his head, tucking his hair behind his ear as he catches his breath. “Maybe I should do that,” he suggests. “Put on a show for them. I’m sure I’ll gain some rep with the kids for it.”_ _ _ _

____“You gotta make sure he does something to make them not like him first,” Galo explains. “If you do it before that they’ll just turn on you instead.”_ _ _ _

____“Ah, right right, got it.” And then, something Galo said much earlier in the conversation finally registers in Lio’s head. “Wait, you can braid hair?”_ _ _ _

____“Hm? Yeah! It’s not even that hard!” Galo gushes. “Well, after you do it wrong ten times before you figure it out.”_ _ _ _

____And Lio doesn't know if he wants to ask the thing that comes to mind, but he knows Galo wouldn't mind._ _ _ _

____Galo never minds._ _ _ _

____But does that mean he should ask? It's almost embarrassing, but he knows Galo won't think much of the request, let alone think to embarrass him. So— “Could you… braid my hair?” he murmurs, looking up at Galo through eyelashes._ _ _ _

____And, contrary to what Lio expects to happen in that moment, Galo immediately brings his hand to his hair._ _ _ _

____He runs it through his hand, feeling it between the pads of his fingertips. “Your hair’s really puffy,” he says. “So I don't think I can put it all into one braid, but I can probably make a small one. Lemme try.”_ _ _ _

____And he's still holding some hair in between his fingers, and Lio can't really function like that._ _ _ _

____He pushes the hair Galo’s holding behind his ear, and Galo finally retracts. “Yeah,” he says quickly, flustered. “Okay. You can try.” Then he fidgets, unsure how to let Galo start. “How should I…?”_ _ _ _

____“Usually I’d sit on a chair and the kids would sit in front of me, so—”_ _ _ _

____“Here,” Lio says, moving before Galo can even finish. He slides off the couch to sit on the floor just as Galo said, encased between his legs._ _ _ _

____“That works!” Galo says._ _ _ _

____Then, he begins._ _ _ _

____It feels just as good as the first time._ _ _ _

____Galo takes it slow, first combing his fingers through all his hair to untangle it._ _ _ _

____His touch is careful and loving. When a knot catches, he makes sure not to pull, instead separating the hair before continuing. He takes his time that way, running his fingers back and forth through Lio’s hair, slowly detangling it, and with every movement, Lio’s eyes close a bit more._ _ _ _

____Galo pauses, then, maybe deciding what kind of braid he can do, or where he can do it, or something—Lio doesn't know, but he's also already half asleep, so he can't really process much._ _ _ _

____“Can you tilt your head like that?” Galo asks, gently nudging in the right direction._ _ _ _

____Lio obliges silently, letting Galo do whatever he wants. His mind feels far too hazy the longer Galo works, so he doesn’t really think before complying._ _ _ _

____It’s nice._ _ _ _

____The light tug with each movement, the feeling of Galo’s legs around him, the warmth of his arms where they rest on Lio’s shoulders. The only sound in the room is their breaths, and the occasional chatter of people being too loud down on the streets. The fleeting thought that Galo won’t close the windows crosses Lio’s mind._ _ _ _

____Through the murk of his half-sleep daze, he thinks Galo is pulling on his wrist, and then there’s a slight tickle at his neck—the lightest of touches, and a moment later, it’s gone._ _ _ _

____Everything is a little too hazy and he thinks he’s being lifted, but he can't be sure if he's dreaming or not—after all, he dreams about Galo quite often, lately._ _ _ _

____But Lio feels warm and safe and comfortable, so maybe it is him, and the moment his head falls against Galo’s chest, he’s out._ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahahahha so we unpacked some shit therE didn't wE : DDDDDDDDDD,
> 
> its just getting started, so obviously not everythings out in the open yet. i personally think some of these fears are quite likely for lio to have. being shown so much care after being used to fending for himself, and after being the one who usually carries the burdens, he can imagine how burdensome dealing with ex-mad burnish leader, ex-fugitive lio fotia, will be for galo. and with that in mind, he feels quite indebted to galo, who, of course, is kind because thats his nature, and he likes having lio around.
> 
> galo and lio are opposites, after all, it can be both fun and tiring to navigate each other, but thats the fun of writing the fic lmao.
> 
> i hope you all enjoyed this first chapter, theres lots to come, so ill see you all again in a couple of days with chapter two : DDDD, feel free to leave comments on things you enjoyed, things you anticipate, even things you might have disliked, I love hearing from you, it truly makes my day : DDD.
> 
> bake milk bread --leaf


	2. To Throw Bricks in Glass Houses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Safety, wind, and ducklings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sup : DDDDDD,
> 
> this chapter along with the next are so good man, i love these scenes so much.
> 
> enjoy : D.

They don't have work today, so Lio’s surprised to wake up alone. Over the months, they've come to learn that Lio wakes up at the crack of dawn regardless of work or when he’d fallen asleep, whereas Galo, who'd been working the same hours for a couple years now, wakes up a couple hours later. 

Having learned this—and also very cold in the mornings of fall and winter—when he’d first begun to live with Galo, Lio would stay in bed, swimming in thoughts or messing with his phone until Galo woke up and they'd make breakfast together before going about their day. 

So today, there's no warm bed, no Galo, no cooking, no breakfast, and no happy Lio. There's just confusion and a worried Lio. Also, wasn't Galo braiding his hair? Why is he in bed? 

He tiptoes around the small apartment. “Galo?” he calls quietly, knocking on the bathroom door. When there’s no response, he walks in to find it empty. Outside their room, there's also no one on the couch or in the kitchen—as suspected, given Galo in the kitchen would have been loud enough to wake Lio up to begin with. 

At the front door, Galo’s shoes are gone, but their shared car keys and Galo’s house keys are still in the bowl. Lio tries the door, and it's unlocked. His heart drops. 

He pretends his hands haven’t begun to shake. 

Maybe Galo went to check the mail. He tiptoes out, bare feet and shorts and all, stepping onto the scratchy carpet in the walkway to peek down the hall. Licking his lips, he steps into some slippers, grabbing the house keys to make sure he does lock the door, and pads into the elevator to go down to the ground. 

He steps around to the residents mail room. 

No Galo. 

He knew there would be no Galo. 

His stomach flips uncomfortably anyway. 

On his way up, he goes over why Galo wouldn’t take the car, and why the front door was left unlocked. What kind of rush could Galo be in that he would forget the apartment keys? 

If it were an emergency, he would have woken up Lio, just like that call they once got four months ago at 3am. Galo and Lio weren’t on night shifts that night, but all hands were needed on deck, so when Galo got a call, he woke Lio too. 

And when he leaves to buy snacks at 1am when Lio’s asleep on the couch halfway through their third movie, he wakes Lio to tell him. 

And when he won't be home right after work, he shoots Lio a text to let him know where he'll be. 

Back in the front door, Lio runs for his phone. It's dead—the fuck?—and of course the charger’s not behind the bed where it usually is. Grabbing his phone, he almost slips on his way out the door, finding Galo’s charger behind the TV. 

He paces up and down the hall, bare feet quietly patting over the wooden floors, and for the first time since he moved in, he feels unsafe. 

He hasn't felt unsafe in nine months. 

With his Promare, he’d never felt lost or weak, but out in the open—living in camps and settlements and running from the Freeze Force—feeling safe had been a rarity. 

With Galo, he doesn't feel lost or weak, and he no longer feels unsafe. Something about Galo’s presence—his big warm body and his dumb, meaningful smile and his giant fireman’s coat that he sometimes drapes over Lio when he comes home to Lio napping—makes Lio feel safe. 

Now, not knowing where Galo is or why he’d left so abruptly, he feels unsafe. 

For the first time in nine months, he feels unsafe. 

He no longer has his Promare, so he can’t protect himself as effectively either. 

Galo didn't close the windows so hot air fills their apartment, but Lio feels a chill run down his spine anyway. 

His phone wakes with a buzz, and Lio dives to the ground at it, bare knees banging to the floor hard enough to bruise, but he pays no mind. 

He can’t get to Galo’s name in his contacts fast enough, and the very second he finds it, his ringtone blares. 

It’s Galo. 

He hastily swipes to accept. “Galo?! Galo where are you?” he says quickly, words blurring together. “Why did you leave so early? Did you not sleep last night? Where did you go?” 

And there’s no response. 

Confusion, along with an increasing sense of worry builds in his stomach. “Galo!” he yells into the microphone, toes curling and knuckles going white against his phone. “Galo?! Why the fuck aren’t you answering?! Galo! Are you okay?” 

His heart beats quickly and loudly, the sound drumming in his ears as he gets more and more nervous. “Galo what’s wrong? Why didn’t you wake me up this morning?! Huh?! An-answer me!” he can hear his voice shaking, and he thinks the hotness on his face are tears forming in his eyes. “Galo what the fuck are you doing? Why the hell aren’t you talking? Galo!” he pulls the phone from his ear, looking at the screen with blurry eyes. 

The call is definitely on. 

He doesn’t know what’s going on. All he wants is to hear Galo’s voice and he can’t and doesn’t know what’s happening and he feels unsafe and upset and scared and it feels like his lungs are squeezing shut. “Galo?” he tries again. This time, his voice is a shaky whimper. 

He sniffles, ready to end the call in favour of 911. Out of sheer desperation and fear, he tries one more time. “Galo, if you don’t talk to me right now I’m gonna start crying,” he says, tears already pouring down his cheeks. 

Then, there's a laugh on the other end. “Guys! Galo passed out, he didn’t even take his shirt off!” Lio hears. The voice comes through the receiver quietly, sounding far away and muffled, but he recognizes it anyway. 

“Aina?” he sniffles, voice cracking and shaky. 

“Lio?” she calls back, and behind her are the unmistakable voices of the rest of the crew. “Guys shut up, did any of you call Lio?” 

“No? Did you?” It’s Remi. 

“No, but I heard him.” 

“Galo called me,” Lio yells to reach over them all, but his chest feels tight and he’s choking on his own tears, so he hopes they at least understood. 

“Oh!” Aina’s voice faintly rings through. “Guys,” she says a bit more clearly. “Dig out Galo’s phone, Lio’s on there.” 

There’s a lot of incoherent rustling and various crew members swearing at each other, before it all suddenly stops, and Aina’s voice is clear. “Lio?” 

“Is Galo okay?” his throat feels closed, and he licks the salt from his lips. 

“Yeah he's fine! He’s just sleeping on the couch.” 

Lio takes a second, taking a deep breath. It's shaky, but he finally feels like he can breathe, just a little, knowing Galo’s okay. “Why?” he finally says. 

“What was that, Lio?” she asks. 

“Why is Galo sleeping over there and not at home? What happened last night? Was there a call?” he says, hoping it doesn't sound too harsh with how gravelly his voice is—having just woken up on top of his yelling and crying. 

“Yeah! We were passing by his apartment so we called to see if you guys were awake and able to come.” 

‘His apartment.’ 

The words linger on Lio’s tongue. 

Galo had said it was their apartment. Their home. Lio’s and Galo’s home. They live together. Galo said that. So he must be right. Right? 

“Our,” he corrects. 

“What was that?” 

“It’s our apartment. We both live here together. You passed by our apartment.” His voice breaks the second time he says ‘our’. Maybe they’ll think it was a problem with the call. 

“O-oh! That’s right,” Aina stammers. “Sorry Lio. We passed your apartment.” 

There’s a muffled ‘why’s he getting so mad?’ and ‘shut up, Lucia,’ from Remi, in the background. 

He decides to ignore it. It’s not like he was mad at the statement, he couldn’t have been. It’s just—Galo said it was their apartment. He said that. 

“Can you wake Galo?” he finally asks. 

“Yeah, definitely!” Aina says. “Guys, go get him.” 

In the time they take to wake Galo, Lio finally rubs at his eyes, clearing his cheeks of the tears and his hot eyes of the itchiness. He’s sweating, he realizes, right down his chest and back, and he swipes his already wet hand through his damp bangs. 

Galo’s voice, though muffled, comes through the phone now. “Huh? Lio?” he says sleepily. 

“You hit call and then fell asleep so get your butt up and talk to him, he’s really worried.” Aina’s voice is quiet and hurried, and Lio thinks he wasn’t supposed to hear her. 

She sounds worried too, for Lio. 

There's a creak, and then a loud yawn, then finally— “Lio? What’s up?” 

Lio holds his breath. “Galo?” 

“Yeah?” he still sounds sleepy. 

“Are you okay?” he says quietly. He knows the others are listening—he wishes they weren’t. 

“Huh? Yeah!” Galo says, enthusiastic and completely oblivious to Lio’s state. “Totally fine, why?” 

“Wait there,” Lio says. “Wait for me. Okay?” 

“You’re coming here?” 

Before he can answer, there’s a smacking sound and a ‘of course he is you idiot.’ 

“Hey, was he crying?” someone says. It sounds like Lucia. 

“I think so, he sounded really worried.” It's Aina. 

“He didn’t have to get so irritated at the apartment thing though.” 

“What apartment thing? What happened?” Galo says. Lio can imagine him looking, one-by-one at everyone in the room, waiting for a clear answer. 

“Nothing even happened,” Lucia says. “Aina was just talking about last night and-” 

“Hey dumbasses.” It’s Remi, now. “You know he’s still on the line right? Maybe wait ‘till he’s out of earshot to nitpick about your coworkers’ emotions when he’s obviously bugging about something.” 

A few more tears run down Lio’s cheek, against his will. He shuts his eyes tight, wanting it to stop already. 

Lucia’s right. He doesn’t want her to be. 

“It’s okay, Remi. I know Lucia means well, and I was too harsh on Aina. I’m sorry, Aina. You were answering me kindly and I yelled at you about one word.” Lio wipes at his eye before the tear can fall. “It doesn’t matter if it was Galo’s apartment or ours. It was my bad.” 

After all, it's been almost a year and everyone else still says it’s Galo’s. For no reason at all, he remembers last week, when Guiera invited him out and said, “I’ll pick you up from Galo’s place.” 

Everyone thinks he doesn't belong. Even Lio himself had said he would move out once he saved enough. His friends, nor his coworkers, nor himself believe he belongs with Galo. 

How foolish of him to think he did, even if it were for only a moment. 

“Lio.” It's Galo now. “I don’t really know what’s going on but—” 

“Don’t talk, Galo,” Lio says, voice firm. 

He knows he shouldn't feel this way—he knows Galo doesn't have any obligation to let him know where he is at all times, he knows it's not Galo’s responsibility how he reacts to Galo not being home, he knows it’s not Galo's fault he felt unsafe, and he knows it’s not Galo’s fault he nonsensically became worried to the point of crying. 

None of it is Galo’s fault—he knows that—but he's mad at Galo anyway. “Just don’t say anything, and wait there.” He doesn’t wait for anyone to respond before hanging up. 

He doesn't make the bed, he doesn't close the windows, he doesn’t change out his ridiculous sleepwear, he doesn't eat, and he doesn't grab socks. He puts on the slippers, grabs the car keys, and drives down to the station. 

He doesn't have to check the rearview mirror to know his eyes are still pink and puffy when he gets there, and he doesn’t look down to confirm the bruises on his knees. 

He walks into the station, down to the back room, and there everyone sits, all eyes on him when he enters. “Let’s go, Galo. You need to sleep properly.” 

“Lio, what-” 

“Lucia,” Lio says, cutting Galo off. He finds her eyes from where she sits on the couch, peering through some designs on a tablet. “Thanks for defending Aina.” 

“Actually, I think I was kinda-” 

“No. You were right,” he says too quickly, cutting off the apology he knows is coming. He doesn’t want to hear it. He doesn’t want them to pity him. It was just a stupid apartment—Galo’s stupid apartment. “It was nothing and I was being rude. Even if she was wrong, I shouldn’t have been that angry.” 

“Lio, what happened to your—” Galo stops when Lio punches him right in the chest. 

It’s so light he’s barely touching him. 

But Galo stops anyway. 

Lio goes to Remi, who's leaning on the wall by the door. “Hey, uhm,” he mumbles. “Thanks for defending me.” There's a tiny smile on his face, but it probably looks more like a grimace. 

Remi looks at him blankly. “I didn't do anything.” 

Then, Lio does smile. “You sound like Galo,” he says. 

Remi actually grimaces. 

When Lio’s at the door and Galo’s not behind him, he turns. “Galo, we're going back to your place, come on.” 

Galo loves talking. He loves smiling. He loves doing what's right. He loves saying something ridiculous and lifting everyone's mood. And he's so, so good at lifting Lio’s mood. 

But right now, everyone's looking at him—Lio supposes it's because it’s the first time he's ever been mad at Galo. They’re all around to witness the occasion. 

And with an angry and post-cry Lio, Galo does what he thinks is right, and silently listens. “Okay. Let’s go.” 

“Lio,” Aina says quietly, just as they're out the door. 

Lio pauses then, biting his lip before turns, putting as much of a smile as he can manage on his face. “What is it?” 

“Uhm,” she mumbles at first. “I love your hair today! You have such pretty hair, it’s cute that you’ve been styling it lately!” 

“My… hair?” Lio questions, completely unaware of what she’s talking about. 

She points to his left side. “The braid? It’s really pretty. You look nice,” she says with a nervous smile. 

Lio runs a hand over his left side, and indeed there’s a braid that runs from his temple, all the way around his ear to the nape of his neck. 

He hadn't noticed it all morning—even while driving it hadn’t registered. “Oh,” he says, hand running over the bumps of the braid. Even upset, he can't help but feel his heart swell knowing this is what Galo had done for him last night. Galo must have taken him to bed too, then. “Thanks. Galo did it for me,” he says with a small, genuine smile. 

Then, there’s a slapping sound so loud it echoes in the room, and Galo slightly falls forward. “Finally using your braiding skills for good huh, Galo?” Remi says. 

First, Galo snorts, and everyone breaks out laughing. 

Lio does too. 

••• 

With Galo fed and sleeping, and Lio fed and not puffy-faced, he finally gets the chance to look at himself. 

He brings a kitchen stool to sit at the mirror by the entryway, tilting his head to the right to get a better look at the work. He’s glad he sleeps on his right side, otherwise he would have ruined the lovely, clean design—and he hadn't even gotten the chance to look at it last night. 

It is pretty, just like Aina said. It keeps the hair out of his face—the left side at least—and he hasn't had a headache all day. If he does the same on the right side, then he won't have to tie it up at all. 

He grabs his phone, carefully trying to balance it on the ledge of the mirror frame all while trying to sit still on a spinny stool—his feet don't touch the floor when he raises it so high, but if he tries to lower it he won't see his face in the mirror, so, hanging feet it is. 

Once it's up, he searches up videos of how to do braids, lowering the volume to make sure he doesn't wake Galo. 

There’s a three stranded braid in the video, just like the one Galo made, but it's thin and hangs loose. The one in Lio’s hair is thick, and attached to his scalp all the way. It takes some weird wording and a lot of squinting at small thumbnails, but he finds a video that does something kind of similar to what he's looking for—albeit not exactly—and tries it out. 

Of course, he fails miserably. 

He can't get the technique of weaving the three strands without them mixing up with each other, and then he either pulls his hair wrong and it hurts, or braids the wrong strands and it doesn't look right anymore. 

So, forget the attached part, he can't even do a plain braid. 

He sees why Galo struggled back when he was learning. These videos are simple and informative—and also videos, with visuals—and Lio still can't do it. Galo had to learn from a bunch of screaming little boys and girls—no wonder it took so long. Lio’s a little surprised he can do it at all, let alone so well. 

He decides to start by practicing with a regular loose braid. He uses thin strands, first, figuring it'll be easier to keep smaller bits separated. He practices like that, slowly working his way up to thicker strands once he learns a technique to keep each strand separated between his fingers. 

He memorizes the pattern of folding one strand over, then the next under, then flipping and repeating, so he tries to do the thing in the video, where he has to grab some new hair with every sequence to keep it attached to his head the way Galo did it. 

He undoes all the little practice braids still intact one by one, and it leaves some of his hair wavy. His lips quirk upward, just the slightest bit—when he undoes the left side, it'll probably be wavy too. 

He starts with three strands near his temple, then pauses the video right where it has the instructions, and starts weaving. 

To his left, the bedroom door slams open. 

“Hey Lio,” Galo says, happily oblivious and stretching his arms as he walks out. “What’s up?” 

Lio hastily jumps off the chair, throwing his hair out of the unfinished braid and pulling at it to hopefully make it less wavy looking. “Nothing!” he peeps, standing sweetly with his hands folded behind his back. 

Galo stares at him, dumbfounded. 

Lio also slaps his phone down off the mirror. 

It crashes loudly. 

He doesn't even blink at the sound, but on the inside, Lio hopes to the moon and back that if anything shattered, it was the screen protector. 

“Why’d you do that?” Galo asks. 

“Do what?” Lio questions innocently, voice still an octave too high. 

Galo points at his phone on the floor. “That.” 

“That’s nothing! Are you hungry?” he says, sidestepping Galo to head to the kitchen. Unfortunately, Galo grabs his arm. 

“Were you… braiding your hair?” 

“N-” 

“Lio that’s so cute! Did you figure it out? It’s hard right? Show me what you can do!” Galo says, and he's so enthusiastic—so happy for Lio—that he almost cracks. 

“I-I wasn’t doing anything,” he stumbles. “Just come on, let’s have lunch.” He tries, with his comparably nonexistent strength, to pull Galo with him. 

He doesn't budge. 

“Lio, it’s still just 10am.” 

“Then, early lunch!” he says too quickly. Too loudly. His heart beats too fast. “Or a second breakfast?” 

Contrary to what he wants, Galo simply laughs him off. “If you didn’t figure it out, I can do the other side for you. Sit back down in front of the mirror, you can see me do it this time!” 

“No!” Lio finally snaps, yanking his hand out of Galo’s grip. “You slept for like three hours and now you wanna sit around and waste your time braiding my hair? What are you doing, Galo? Just go do something else!” 

“Why are you yelling at me?” Galo yells back. More like pouts. But he pouts very loudly. 

“Because you’re not listening to me! I said stop doing all this stuff. Go worry about yourself!” 

“But I wanna do your hair!” he says in the same pouty voice. 

“No, no you don't.” Lio says, staring him down harshly. 

Galo remains unphased. “Yeah I do! I like it!” 

“No you don’t!” 

“How would you know that?” 

“I don't,” Lio admits. “But I'm telling you. You don't like it, so stop doing it.” 

“But I do like it!” 

Lio stamps his foot down, glaring up at Galo. “Fine! I don't like it! Me! I don't like when you do it, so stop it.” 

“Lio-” he starts, but Lio starts walking to the door. “Lio?” 

Lio slides his feet back into his slippers, grabbing the car keys as he heads out when he pauses, a foot out the door and the keyring on his finger. 

They’re Galo’s keys. 

To Galo's car. 

They’re not his, so why should he take them when he's the one storming out? 

The thought makes his eyes hot again. 

He blinks rapidly, a frown taking over his expression as he all but throws the keys back into the little pink and green bowl, the clattering sound even louder than the slam of the door. 

He takes off running, because not a second later, the door opens again and Galo storms out. He supposes he’s lucky because the elevator doors close before Galo makes it, but out of the sliver of the door he sees Galo run to the stairs. 

He silently swears. “Hurry up hurry up hurry up,” he mumbles over and over. The second the doors open he takes off running again, but of course Galo’s right behind him. He barely makes it two steps out the door before Galo’s giant arms encase him, lifting him off the ground. 

Lio kicks and pushes against Galo’s arms where his own are encased against his body. “Let go!” he yells. 

“Not until we talk about why you're mad,” Galo says, easily keeping his hold as he casually walks back to the elevator with a scrambling, tiny person in his arms. The lobbyman barely glances up. 

“Wait, Galo! I dropped my slipper down there, look,” he says, frantically pointing toward the door. 

Galo carries him back to where it is, carefully leaning down the tiniest bit so Lio can stretch out his foot to catch the slipper back. 

Instead, Lio lets all his muscles go slack, sliding right out of Galo’s grasp. He abandons his other slipper, taking off in a run without having to worry about them. 

He’s glad it's before noon, otherwise the pavement would have burned his feet no matter how fast he'd run. He's also glad because it means there aren't many people on the street, and he still has his ridiculous sleepwear on—specifically, a giant white t-shirt of Galo’s that Galo wore the day he bought it for an event and nothing else, thereby making it Lio’s property, and tiny shorts. 

Usually, he doesn't like shorts, but it's been so hot and Galo’s legs sometimes act as a heater right beside Lio’s, so he'd finally given in. 

Shit timing. 

For some reason, Galo’s not chasing him, so he runs faster, away from the apartment building to literally anywhere else. 

He ends up at the closest public park and collapses onto the grass, much too tired to care about the few people walking along the paths. 

He continues to lay there, the cool grass pleasant against his exposed legs and arms. It's fun to run his fingers and toes through it too. He's in the shade, and the sounds of cars zooming by are just scarce enough to not be annoying. 

He's being annoying though—Lio knows that much. 

He's sure none of his behaviours actually make sense to Galo, who’s just going with whatever Lio’s saying. 

Lio cries, Galo listens. Lio talks, Galo talks. Lio tells Galo not to talk, Galo doesn't talk. Lio yells, Galo yells back. Lio runs, Galo chases. 

That’s just how Galo is—he goes with what he's given. He never thinks hard about the complicated stuff. He never spends a ton of time inside his head thinking about the problems and underlying implications of peoples interactions. He never mulls over his relationships with people a hundred times. He just says exactly what he's feeling—whether that's to a dick who betrayed him or an enemy he's decided needs help—Galo always speaks from his heart, never the mind. 

He's the definition of head empty, heart full. 

Maybe, Lio thinks, he should have just let Galo carry him back upstairs—being held against his giant body like that was really comforting, if nothing else. Lio might be the one who ran away, but he already misses him. 

Just then, a loud engine revs right beside where he lies, and he turns to glare at the coward. 

It's Galo. 

On his bike. 

On his bike? 

Lio jumps up from where he lies, toes curling into the grass as he marvels at the vehicle, all anger and upset immediately forgotten in favour of beaming at the sight. “How do you have this?” he practically squeals, loud excitement spilling into his voice. 

“Huh? It’s mine.” 

“Galo I thought you sold this for the car! So you still have it?! What the hell Galo, we should have been taking this to work every day!” He spins around in the grass once, grabbing fistfulls of his hair. He bites his lip, unable to hold back the huge grin on his face. 

“I’d never sell my baby! How could you say that?!” 

Lio laughs brightly, pushing his bangs out of his eyes. “Okay then how do you have this?” 

“It’s been sitting underground in a reserved spot, and the car is my parents’,” Galo explains. “It didn’t get hurt in the fire so it was handed to me. I didn't really use it though ‘cause a bike was way cooler!” 

“Hell yeah it is.” 

“When you came along I figured the car would be safer and quicker to get a license for though.” 

“Galo I can't believe you have this,” Lio says, eyes beaming. 

“So?” Galo asks, holding up a helmet. “Want a ride?” 

Lio’s eyes go wide at the suggestion. “Yes!” he all but yells, grabbing the helmet and immediately getting on behind Galo. 

“You’re forgetting something, Lio.” 

Lio kicks his legs out childishly. “Who cares Galo,” he whines, stretching out his name. “Let’s just go, go, go!” he says gleefully, pushing on Galo’s shoulders with each ‘go’. 

Then, Galo holds up his slippers, and Lio turns pink. “You’re barefoot, remember?” 

“Oh, yeah…” he silently slides off, entirely failing to hide his embarrassment. 

“The slippers are really bad for riding, but I trust you'll keep them on. You have some unconventional experience too! So you'll be fine.” 

Once the damn slippers are on, Lio slides the helmet shut, getting back on behind Galo. 

“Ready?” Galo calls over the engine. 

Lio can practically hear the grin on his face. “Hell yeah,” he says, pointedly tightening his arms around Galo’s waist. 

And then they're off. 

Lio’s heart swells. 

He hasn't been on a bike in so long it almost hurt. It's not the same as Detroit, but it's a bike, and it has Galo. 

Lio considers this a complete win. 

After a short while, they’re on a fairly empty highway, going as fast as Galo dares with the speed limit. 

The hot wind speeds past them almost instantaneously, and Lio feels it in his bones. There are goosebumps all up and down his legs and arms and chest. His shirt, loose and baggy, whips against his back in the wind but he barely feels it with the energy running through him. He hasn't felt so happy in years. 

Years. 

“Lio!” he just barely hears Galo yell. He feels the breadth of it through his back more than he hears it, honestly. 

“Yeah Galo?!” he yells back. 

“...hands up-” 

Lio shakes his head, though he knows Galo can’t see. “What!?” he says as loud as he can. 

“Put your hands up!” Galo yells, and his voice comes through his back again. 

Lio grins even wider—he's been smiling so much his cheeks hurt. ‘You don’t have to tell me twice,’ he thinks. 

And he throws both hands in the air. 

With complete trust in Galo, there's not a moment's hesitation in the movement. 

Then he screams. 

He takes the deepest, longest breath, and screams. 

It’s this long, loud howl—so loud it would be ear shattering under normal circumstances. But on this highway, with the sound of the engine and on a bike going over 100km/h, it's almost inaudible. 

So when he runs out of air, he does it again, and again, and again. 

He clenches his fists in the air and shrieks with absolute glee over and over and over again. He knows Galo can hear him, if those laughing shoulders of his are anything to go by. 

And it’s exhilarating. 

So he does it again. 

He does it again and again, right up until all the energy and anger and bottled up frustration settled in the pits of his stomach have completely vanished, suffocating energy now let out into the air. 

And finally, his arms fall back down to Galo’s shoulders. 

Lio laughs. 

He laughs a loud, maniacal, terrifyingly loud laugh. 

He's never felt so free before. 

Not when he was a child, supposedly free from the burdens of life. Not when he burned out the first time the Promare synced with his body. Not when he learned to control his fire and not when he was burning buildings to satisfy his inner fire. Not when he's ridden Detroit, and not when he was free of the burden of the Promare. 

Never once in his life has he felt so free and happy and in love. 

Goodness he’s in love. 

He's so completely in love with Galo he doesn't know what to do with himself. And it’s all he can do when he hangs onto his damn waist, leaning back as far as he can go to laugh his whole heart out. 

He sticks his feet out, curling his toes so the stupid slippers stay on—the second pair of slippers Galo bought for him the day Lio went to check the mail barefoot. Of course, there’s a sweet memory attached even to the dumb pale green slippers he has. 

And by the sky above and the rock hard pavement beneath his feet, from his heart to his soul, Lio Fotia is completely, unconditionally, in all it’s meanings in all their entireties, in love with Galo Thymos. 

He’s never been happier. 

He’s never felt freer. 

It’s so freeing to love Galo. 

He's not just kind and emotive and giving and all the normal things Lio loves about him. 

No. 

It’s the mornings Galo bangs the pots too loudly when he puts them on the burner, slicing way too much butter into it when Lio’s not looking because Lio hates too much butter on pancakes. 

It's the cold afternoons that he heats up fluffy socks with a hair dryer for him and Lio to wear around the house, binging movies and lazing on the couch when they're on a day off. 

It’s the evenings Lio’s passed out on the couch after a 24-hour shift only to wake up on Galo’s thigh. Then he’ll sit up to find Galo’s big dumb body twisted in weird ways so he could sleep without disturbing Lio—Lio with his tiny body taking up three quarters of the couch. 

It’s the nights they spend doing a lot of nothing until Galo suggests they order pizza right when they're about to fall asleep. So they get pizza and they stay up in bed and they talk right up until they pass out, the empty box haphazardly pushed off the bed by Galo’s shifting feet. 

Goodness it’s the hair braiding, and listening to how Lio feels when he can't express himself and waiting for him to find the words. It's the plants and the string lights and it’s Galo paying attention to every small detail Lio tells him. 

It’s Galo saying he rarely buys ice cream because he doesn't want to be unhealthy, but eating bucket loads of pizza for whatever meal he can, so Lio buys him ice cream whenever he goes grocery shopping. 

It’s Galo saying he really has issues putting on his sleeve every morning because the strap gets loose sometimes, so he and Lio sit quietly on the bed, every morning, while Lio carefully undoes and redoes the strap for him. Then Galo, with the biggest smile and brightest eyes and loudest voice, says, ‘thanks Lio!’. 

It's the one morning Galo was half asleep when Lio was doing it, so his thanks was a quiet whisper, and Lio felt his heart leap. 

It’s every time Galo looks at him and says living without him is boring. It’s every evening he would take Lio to empty parking lots to teach him how to drive. It's every morning he went out only to come home with some kind of present for Lio, from a small snack to a pink and green flame enamel pin to a damn pair of earrings with the promise that they should get piercings together sometime. 

It's the face he made when Lio bought him a pair of earrings in return—one of good quality, way back when he was just barely making money and dealing with expedited court cases and working long hours on the Rehabilitation Project. 

It was that face that looked like Galo himself, the embodiment of happiness and optimism, was almost in tears at what Lio had done with his little money and tired little body. 

It was the big, bone crushing hug Lio received right after. 

It was the moment he realized he would never get Galo Thymos out of his head. 

And here he is, seven and a half months after that realization, utterly in love. 

He probably was all that time too—he just hadn’t understood it, then. 

Galo changes lanes to head to the exit above, so Lio finally sits back on the bike properly, wrapping his arms tight around Galo’s waist to be secure. 

When they've come to a stop at the light, the winds around them still and silent, Lio finally gets to hear himself breathe, and he's practically panting. He didn't even do anything, but he feels like he's just run a marathon. 

Excitement is such a funny thing, he thinks. “Galo,” he says when he catches his breath. 

“Yeah Lio?” And Galo sounds just as firm and stable as always, back vibrating against Lio’s chest when he speaks. 

“Where are we going?” 

And Galo laughs his big happy laugh. “Where do you think?” 

Oh. 

And then Lio’s kicking his feet out again. “Ice lake but it’s not ice anymore ‘cause it’s a real lake now?” he asks eagerly, quoting Galo from yesterday. 

“Hell yeah it’s the ice lake that’s not ice anymore ‘cause it’s a real lake now!” Galo says just as excitedly. 

Lio tightens his arms again as they start moving. “Galo?” he calls. 

“Yeah?” 

“This isn’t the way though. We were on the highway for so long.” 

“It is! Just say we took the scenic route!” Galo says, and Lio can't help but laugh. 

And just as Galo said, they do reach the lake in about twenty minutes. It took much longer, but it was a lot more fun. 

Galo slows down, riding along the lake until they make it to Galo's favourite spot. 

They stop, and for a second too long, Lio doesn't move. He tightens his grip, as if such a motion could silently express how much he loves Galo without giving himself away. 

He doesn't move, breathing in the clean air mixing with Galo’s smell, and it feels just as nice as the first night he spent in Galo’s apartment. 

After a month of being treated as a criminal and having to deal with jailhouses at night and court houses during the day, fighting for his own freedom as well as the Burnish’s, alongside the Burning Rescue who had fought and vouched for him, he was finally free to go. Burnish shelters were his only option and he had to find a way to contact Meis and Guiera to see if he would fit anywhere. 

Galo had other plans, though. 

When Galo finally shuts off the engine, the sudden silence is piercing, and Lio finds it in himself to let go. 

He stands, handing Galo the helmet. He shakes off the hair sticking to his temples, and with the biggest smile on his face, he kicks off his slippers too, toes curling into the thick mountainous grasses as he stretches his little hands as high as they go, shaking off the physical stress of riding a bike. 

He still feels the buzz in his muscles—the euphoric sensation of letting everything go continuing to run through his veins. 

He never wants the feeling to end. 

He drops his arms to his head, shoulders bouncing as he laughs brightly, unable to process just how happy he is. “Galo,” he calls, voice light and airy. 

“Yeah?” 

“That... was amazing,” he marvels, animatedly bouncing on his heels. 

“Didn’t it feel great?! I haven't ridden in so long, that was fun!” Galo says, his blue eyes bright and big. 

Lio bites his lip. Seeing Galo’s excitement brings another surge of energy in him, bouncing up and down on his feet, happiness pouring out of him in the form of loud, unbound laughter. 

He hears Galo’s own boisterous self losing it—probably at Lio’s uncharacteristic behaviour, and his own heart swells at the sound. 

He stands before Galo, tears at the corners of his eyes and little hands in tight fists at his sides and toes hugging the earth beneath his feet. 

He’s in love. 

Galo’s smiling at him, his hair is kind of a mess from being pushed into the helmet, and he's already thrown his shirt off. He's looking at Lio like he both completely expected Lio to let go the way he did, and surprised that Lio actually did it. He's looking at Lio the same way he did that night they saved the world, standing above Promepolis with ruins of a battle surrounding them and the sun rising from behind the mountains. 

And Lio’s in love. 

He stretches his arms again, shutting his eyes and exaggeratedly groaning in the hopes it'll hide the affection swelling in his chest. Then he throws himself into the grass, lying back with his arms above his head. The cool grass feels nice against his sticky back, pricking his thighs and calves and hugging his hair. 

Suddenly, the sun is blocked, and Lio opens his eyes to see Galo leaning over him. “Comfortable?” he asks, a laugh in his voice. 

“Definitely.” 

Then, Galo follows, lying so close his arm touches Lio’s side. They spend some time like that, silent and understanding. 

The noon sun shines hotly against Lio’s pale skin and he pushes his bangs off his forehead, pulling his shirt up to wipe his face. At least the shirt was white, or he'd be burning. 

After a while, he turns to Galo, wondering why he's stayed quiet all this time. Surely he’d have brought up the elephant in the room by now, being the only person Lio knows who lacks any and all kinds of inhibition. 

He sits up, resting his body on his arm, to get a better look at Galo who's turned the other way. 

He's asleep. 

Lio smiles at the sight. 

He must have been so tired, after all, he'd been up all night working and had gotten a mere three hours of sleep back at the apartment, and then he had to deal with Lio and drive a bike at full speed on a highway for almost an hour while being so sleep deprived. 

Galo’s so giving. 

Lio wishes he held even a quarter of the kindness Galo had in him. 

Galo’s usually so animated. 

He's always full of expression and talking and posing and being a big ball of energy and Lio loves it. But, Lio likes him like this too—when he's quiet and relaxed and taking care of himself instead of everyone else in the room. 

He's sure Galo doesn't realize it, but he's always taking care of everyone else before he takes care of himself. It's just how Galo is—he’s always thinking of how to help others, and his personality is just kind and fun and loving. It's who he is, and Lio knows it doesn't burden Galo to be like that. 

But, every once in a while, when they're sitting on the couch and Galo falls asleep against his arm, Lio thinks Galo deserves to be taken care of the same way he does for everyone else. 

So, Lio decides something, then. 

If living without Lio is boring, then Lio will stay with him. 

If he finds doing up his sleeve every morning troublesome, Lio will do it for him. 

If he comes home after his third 24-hour shift of the week too tired to change or get to the bed or cook dinner, Lio will have everything ready, and sit on the couch to eat with him, then be his pillow until he wakes up. 

If Galo brings him a present on the way home, Lio will make sure he does the same the next day—even if it's smaller or less expensive or just a damn box of pizza, Lio will make sure he does the same. 

Lio’s not good at taking care of people—he’s good at being a leader, doing the collective good, pushing himself to the limits for his people—but he's not good at taking a look at a person and learning how to take care of them. 

But he tries, for Galo. 

He tries and he’ll keep trying until he does it right—until he thinks he does enough for Galo as Galo does for him. 

And that might be in months, or years, or never, but that just means he'll have to stick by Galo’s side ‘till he gets it right, doesn't it? 

Lio smiles at the thought, and as if Galo were watching, he smiles too. 

He must be having a good dream, Lio thinks. 

Before he can convince himself not to, Lio runs his hand through Galo’s hair a couple times before standing. Then, he carefully pulls off Galo’s boots and socks, placing them by his bike, and folds up the shirt he threw off, placing it under Galo’s head as a sort of pillow. 

And he knows he's not doing anything bad, but he glances back to make sure Galo’s still sleeping before throwing a leg over the bike and taking a seat. 

He doesn't want to drive it—it would be illegal after all, but just, sit. 

Just feel the bars under his palms and remember how it feels to be on a bike again—how it feels to have that kind of control and freedom all at once. 

Galo’s bike feels similar to Detroit, but different at the end of the day. Of course, Detroit was made of Promare flame, made to fit Lio perfectly, and did not work like a regular bike, so it would feel different. 

But, it’s not bad. It’s really good, actually. 

It has the same spirit, and it's amazing if the ride earlier is anything to go by. 

Lio briefly wonders—feeling his bare feet on the rests and the grooves of the bars under his small palms—if the feeling of driving this bike would be as good as he felt riding it behind Galo. 

He doesn't think anything in the world could feel as good as he did today—not even piloting the Galo de Lion had felt that good, and that was the first time he felt connected to Galo. 

He sighs, finally stepping back onto the grass. 

He walks around the edge of the lake, finding the collection of rocks that leads into the water. Sitting, he slowly stretches a leg down. Dipping his toes in the water, he finds it nice and cool, and he smiles. 

Tucking his hair behind his ear, he stands, walking along the rocks until he finds a spot low enough that he can dip his legs in. Then, he sits, kicking his feet back and forth and laughing when a couple ducks flinch away at the stray droplets. 

He stays like that, watching the ducks and skipping rocks and kicking his feet, the still water glimmering from the overhead sun. 

It's just over an hour later when he hears the loud pat of feet behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so : ))))))),
> 
> how was that : D ?
> 
> i love the motorcycle scene so much you dont understand. i love the idea that he realizes his feelings completely out of the blue, with no buildup or anything. he just suddenly things, 'ah, thats what this feeling is.' and i love the idea that it happens during that ride, because to begin with its probably so exhilarating to ride after so long, and also because motorcycles are something they both love, so yknow : D.
> 
> anyway, we all know whats coming next chapter. feel free to leave comments, they really do make my day, i love hearing what u all have to say. 
> 
> thank you so much for reading, and ill see you in a couple of days : DD
> 
> pick flowers --leaf


	3. Under the Burning Sun, To a Warm Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Explanations, promises, and secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello : DDD,
> 
> if anyones in est you can't judge me for posting at 4am.
> 
> i really liked writing this scene, since dialogue is basically my favourite thing to write, so hopefully you like it too : DD
> 
> enjoy : D

Lio doesn't turn at the sound of steps behind him, and Galo silently takes a seat beside him. He dips his feet in the water the same way Lio has, playfully knocking his feet into Lio’s, who giggles, kicking back. 

“So, you wanna talk about why you’re mad now?” Galo asks, smile still on his face, completely sure of himself. 

Lio looks away then, staring at their feet in the water. “Yeah,” he says finally. “I mean I don't really want to but, I'm ready to.” 

“Wait!” Galo says loudly. “Wait wait wait, if you don’t wanna then it’s fine, I didn't mean you had to you know, you don't have to,” he stumbles out, comically emphasizing the ‘have’s. “It's totally fine you know—” 

“Galo,” Lio laughs. It’s the sweetest thing, when Galo stumbles over what he’s allowed to ask and what not. He’s not one for filtering his thoughts, so Lio appreciates the effort he takes to watch his words. “I know, but if I'm talking to you, then it's fine. I just meant it's not my favourite thing in the world to talk about my feelings, y’know? But I will anyway. Besides, you kind of deserve an explanation.” 

“You don’t owe me anything, Lio.” 

At that, Lio reels back and lightly punches him on the arm. “That's part of what I want to talk about, so don't say that.” 

“I don't get it.” 

Lio rubs Galo’s arm where he hit, sighing. He thinks back to where he should start. Does he go back nine months and start when he started feeling indebted to Galo and unpack all that? Does he start at the braiding? Does he start at the tears in the car on the way to work? Does he start at this morning when he woke up alone? 

Hm. 

Yeah. 

“This morning,” he begins. “I had no idea where you were.” 

“Yeah I thought it might be about that,” Galo says, a hand rubbing the back of his neck. “I'm sorry I didn’t leave a note or anything, I was just in a hurry y'know?” 

Lio sighs, leaning back onto his hands. “I understand that, Galo. I really, really, really do. But the thing is,” he says quietly, voice kind yet unyielding. “When you're on the run for ten years with different people every other month, and you become branded as a leader and a terrorist all at once and have to take care of people in hiding, when you live like that for ten years, waking up to an unfamiliar situation is really scary.” He bites his lip, legs shaking about in the water just for something else to focus on. “It's really, really scary.” 

“Lio-” 

“I know it’s not your fault,” he interrupts. “You didn't know. How could you, when I don't even tell you these things?” he says huffing, a bitter curve on his lips. “And you can't control the way I react to things. You have been considerate of me, leaving me notes and waking me up when you have to go somewhere, but you don't need to do those things, or rather, you shouldn't have to,” he explains. “It's not your responsibility to make sure I don't get scared or whatever. But I was.” 

“I was because, for almost a year, I've had a roof and a bed and food and— and a life,” he says, stumbling over his words as he feels his throat close up. “I’ve had a front door that locked and warm socks and clothes that weren’t made of fire and it felt safe, Galo. Everyday I wake up to the same thing. To the same roof and the same socks and the same fridge full of food,” he continues. His voice shakes, and water splashes onto his legs when he kicks his feet. 

His breath hitches and he has to choke out his next words. “To you.” He squeezes his eyes shut, lips tight and quivering. “You make me feel safe, Galo.” He hadn't meant to say it. “And suddenly, you weren’t there anymore.” Lio thinks he might cry again. 

Galo pulls his feet out of water, crossing them and turning to face Lio. He brings a hand to Lio’s small jaw, tilting Lio’s gaze to him to rub a thumb over his eye. 

Lio scrunches his nose, the ghost of Galo’s hand tickling his cheek. Then, all at once, it’s gone. “I'll always be there, Lio,” he says calmly, deep voice pleasant to the ear. “I wouldn't leave you like that.” 

Something in Lio’s stomach flips. 

His breath stilts and his nails dig into his palms. “I know!” he yells, turning away. “Galo I know, but it still happened. I didn't know where you were and you didn't wake me up and I didn't even remember how I got to bed, so when you weren’t there and I couldn't find you, the first and only thing I could feel was unsafe. Imagine how I felt getting a call from you when I felt like that and you wouldn't even talk," he bites, knuckles rubbing harshly on the rock below him. “Hell I was losing my damn mind.” He pulls his feet up in favour of hugging his knees, as if the action would protect his heart from the nonsensical drivel in his head. 

“You’re crying,” Galo says. 

“Yeah, yeah I was crying. So what?” 

“No Lio, you’re crying now.” 

Furrowing his brows, he looks at Galo. “What?” And then he touches his cheeks and hell, it’s the third time he’s cried in under 48 hours. 

He flicks his hand out aggressively, drying the wetness left behind on it. “The point is, I felt like shit and then I had to do some weird verbal gymnastics with the entire station on the phone listening to me lose it just to find out what happened to you, and then I just—I just—” 

“Lio-” 

“I know!” he yells again, much too loud. “Goodness I know I have no right to be angry with you because it's literally not your fault. It's not! This is my problem. But shit Galo,” he sobs, aggressively wiping at his cheeks. “The only thought in my head was ‘I want Galo’ and all I got was all our coworkers thinking I’m fucking nuts at five in the fucking morning and I just ended up putting all that anger on you and I’m sorry,” he practically chokes, rubbing at his eyes and wiping his face with his shirt. 

“I’m sorry,” he sobs, and it barely even sounds like words at this point but his head feels hot and his eyes are itchy and all he can taste is salt and he's sweating and feels like no matter how much he gasps, he can't possibly fill his lungs if his ribcage feels like it's about to fall loose onto them. 

Then, Galo’s gripping his arm and pulling him up. Lio hadn't even noticed him leave his side. “W-what… what are you d-doing?” he hiccups through wiping his face. 

Instead of answering, Galo just holds his hand, leading them both down the rocks and closer to the water, and Lio thinks he'll stop. 

He doesn't. 

He walks right into the water. “G-Galo what—” And then Galo pulls. 

Lio falls right into him, gasping at the sudden cold reaching up to his chest. 

His fight for air stops, and he feels like he can breathe again. 

“Hold your breath,” Galo says, and before Lio even registers the words, he's pulled under. 

Galo holds him down, looking him right in the eye through the clear water. Lio’s sure he looks ridiculous, eyes wide and cheeks puffed and hair floating everywhere. 

But it's Galo who's looking at him, so does it really matter? 

After about ten seconds, they finally resurface, and Lio gasps for air, shaking his wet hair out of his mouth and face, wiping at his eyes. 

“You feel better right?” Galo asks, big smile already plastered on his face again. 

The water had cooled and cleaned Lio’s face, and the shock of the cold water stopped his crying, so maybe his eyes feel hot but— “Yeah, yeah I feel a lot better.” Lio admits, finding a smile automatically breaking through his hard set cheeks. He wipes his face down one last time, and then Galo leads them back out. 

They set Lio's shirt out on some warm rocks in the sun to dry, and go a bit higher on the rocks to sit themselves. 

Galo doesn't say anything for a while, minding his business and squeezing water out of his shorts. 

“Sorry about the braid,” Lio finally pipes up, having pulled it apart to let his hair properly dry. 

“I’ll just redo it,” Galo says with a smile, finally turning to sit beside Lio. 

Lio smiles at the response. “Hey,” he says, noticing Galo's sleeve isn't drying with his clothes. But then he realizes Galo's not wearing it either. “You didn’t put on your sleeve?” 

“You ran out so fast Lio, of course I didn't. You're fast you know. Small people are really fast.” 

Lio lightly smacks his arm. “Hey, I'm not that small, you're just a giant.” 

“World’s biggest giant,” he says with a glint in his eye. 

Lio smiles. “I like when you don't wear your sleeve. I know you wear it out of consideration, but, I like seeing the scar.” 

“How come?” 

“Well, it’s proof, isn't it? That you dealt with something so big and scary, and you overcame it. And besides, with my Promare, I couldn’t get scars, so I never had anything to show for all those years,” he mumbles, tracing the lines of Galo’s scar with a finger. “I think it means a lot that you fought to live your life, that you became a firefighter after what happened to you, so, I like seeing it.” 

“Lio.” 

“Yeah?” 

“That's actually kind of super cool.” 

Lio laughs. “Huh?” he asks. 

“I’m too dumb to think about stuff like that, but it’s really cool that you think interesting stuff about simple things. I'll try to not wear the sleeve around the house, then,” he says, patting Lio’s head softly. “So you can see it.” 

Lio gives him a smile. “You know, Galo,” he begins. 

“Yeah?” 

“You’re really smart.” 

Lio's never seen such shock on Galo's face before. 

“Don’t really hear that often,” he says, and Lio laughs teasingly. 

“I’m sure,” he says. 

“I thought I was the world's number one firefighting idiot.” 

“You are, but—” Lio says, pressing a finger into Galo's chest. “—you’re also the world's number one Lio-healing smart person.” 

“What does that even mean?” Galo says, confusion all over his face. 

“It means, you always know what to do to calm me down. Even all the way back when I was a dragon burning Promepolis to the ground you knew what to do. And then the bike ride today and the water—” he says, stumbling over his words as his heart swells. His toes curl against the warm rock below him. “You just, you always know what to do with me. You always know how to take care of me. You're really smart, Galo.” 

And when he finally looks back at Galo, he looks like he's about five seconds away from exploding. 

With the biggest, most smug, proud smile splitting Galo’s cheeks, he's looking at Lio like he's worth a million dollars. Then he's grabbing Lio and crushing him in a hug and he can't breathe again. “G-Galo,” he chokes. 

“Lio!” he yells, stretching out the name. “You said I'm smart! You can’t take that back okay?” he says eagerly, pulling Lio away for just a second to look at his face. And then he's being crushed against his chest again. “Ooo I'm gonna tell everyone at work that you said I'm smart!” he says, finally plopping Lio back onto the rocks. 

Lio sputters, coughing to regain his breath. “No!” he yelps when he catches his breath. “You can't do that.” 

“Awh,” Galo pouts loudly. “But why not?” 

“It’s so embarrassing, Galo,” he laughs. “You know how much they'll make fun of me when they find out just why I said it?” 

“What's so embarrassing about being taken care of?!” 

And it's the way Galo says it that has Lio laughing instead of blushing. “Fine, fine,” he gives in, just because Galo looks really cute pouting. “You can say I think you’re smart, but you can’t tell them why. Okay?” And it's almost comical how quickly Galo jumps up. 

“Really?!” 

“Yes. But no ‘why’s! Promise?” he says, sticking out a small pinky. 

Galo smiles resolutely. “Promise,” he says, linking his own with Lio's. “Oh!” he remarks, perking up again. 

“Yeah?” 

“What happened to your knees?” Galo asks, thumb ghosting over the greenish skin on Lio’s knee. 

“Ah-” And he looks away, hands covering his knees. He sucks in a lip. “It was just… I just fell… this morning…” he mumbles, trailing off. It’s slightly embarrassing to admit how frantic he’d been to contact Galo, forgive him. “I tripped while trying to get to my phone, that’s all,” he says. 

“You gotta be more careful, Lio,” he says, two fingers under Lio’s chin to tilt his gaze up. 

Lio smiles, stilted and uncertain, slouching in place with a sigh. “I know, I will.” 

Then, Galo holds up his pinky again. “Promise?” he says, grinning. 

Lio can’t help but shake his head, giggle rising up his throat. “Promise,” he says, linking his smaller pinky with Galo’s. 

Then, he turns away again, flopping against Galo's arm. “So, uhm…” he starts, knowing there's more waiting to be discussed. He just really doesn't want to break into tears for the fourth time. 

“What’s up?” Galo says casually. 

Lio wishes he had such a hold on his emotions. “So, about the whole ‘your apartment’ ‘our apartment’ thing.” 

“Yeah.” 

“And about the braid thing.” 

“There's a braid thing?” 

Lio winces a bit, knowing it’ll sound really dumb when he explains his issues out loud. “Yeah…” 

“Oh! So you did learn how to braid hair?” Galo asks innocently. 

Lio laughs. “No, you idiot. The thing I was telling you about in the car yesterday morning, and the way I freaked out about staring in the mirror today, they're kind of connected.” 

“You’re really losing me here, Lio,” Galo says, patting his thigh. 

Lio swings his legs back and forth a few times. “Well, I kind of already came up with a solution, but I still wanna tell you about it, if that's okay.” 

“Shoot.” 

“I just think— well,” he pauses, pursing his lips as he chooses his words. “Ever since I moved in with you, all the way until now, I've always felt like you did a lot for me,” he begins. “Too much, even. Stuff that really, really is more than you should be doing for me. You don't just take care of me, Galo,” he says, weighing on the ‘just’. He traces random lines on the bare skin of his legs, just to busy his hands. 

“You go above and beyond,” Lio continues. “And that includes doing stuff like telling me your home is now also my home, and braiding my hair for me because ponytails give me headaches. You do so much, Galo, and it's not that it's overwhelming. I actually…” and he trails off, realizing just what he was about to say. 

There's no way he can tell Galo the truth right now—not the whole truth. 

He's admitting a lot to begin with—he's never opened up like this to anyone before, so he can’t. He’s not ready to confess his feelings on top of all that. It wouldn't be fair. 

“You actually what?” 

And Galo's talking in that voice, now. 

His quiet voice. 

Okay. 

“I actually feel really good,” he mumbles. And then he takes a deep breath, willing his heart to shrink back to it’s normal size. “I feel really loved,” he continues quietly. “It's nice to feel taken care of, and everything you do makes me feel like that. But, I also feel like I don't deserve it.” 

“Lio-” 

“I feel like—” he interrupts yet again. But he has to, he has to because he thinks if he hears what Galo has to say, in that quiet voice of his, he'll never get his own words out. “I feel like I don't deserve it when I'm the reason you almost had to quit your job to stop the Burning Rescue from losing its reputation. I feel like I don't deserve it when I feel like I basically invaded your personal space and made you switch out a bed you've slept on for five years and stole half your clothes and then stole half your closet space and half of basically your whole life. I even work with you. I feel like I don't deserve that Galo.” 

“Lio-” 

“But!” 

“There's a but?” 

“There's a but,” Lio nods, hair tickling his cheek from where his head meets Galo’s arm. “But, you've told me that you like living with me. You've told me that sleeping on a bigger bed has really helped you. You've told me that there's always been too much room in that closet anyway, since you don't have that many shirts. You've told me that it's nice to come home to me instead of an empty apartment. You've told me that you like braiding my hair. And you've told me that your home is now my home. And all those things…” Again, he hesitates. But he has to say it. 

Galo deserves to know. 

Lio deserves the chance to tell him. 

So Lio quiets his voice to something barely above a whisper-more breath than voice and more lips than sound, and he says it. “All those things also make me feel loved. But I won’t say I don't deserve them, because I believe you. You always tell me the truth, Galo, so I believe you.” He nods to himself, swallowing the lump in his throat. “I have to try and listen to you, instead of getting lost in ideas that only exist in my head, right?” 

“Right.” Galo's says, and Lio almost can't believe it's him who says it when it’s just them together, out in the open with no one around, and Galo's just barely whispered it. “Lio,” he says, back to his normal volume. 

“Yeah?” Lio says, caught off guard. He lifts his head from Galo's arm to look at him. 

“You said you already have a solution right?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Before you tell me that, can you promise me something else?” 

“Anything, Galo,” Lio says too quickly when the question is slightly worrying. 

“You gotta keep living at home,” Galo says, like he just broke bad news or something. 

“Galo—” he starts, cut off by his own laugh. “That's literally my solution,” he says, a smile left behind on his lips. 

“Huh?” 

“No no, you finish first. Why is that the promise you want me to make?” 

“Because I gotta make sure you never feel unsafe again!” Galo says with conviction. Also with excess excitement. “That means you have to keep living in the place you feel safe, and that's our place right?” 

“Yeah.“ Lio can feel the heat on his cheeks, now. “Yeah, I feel safe at our place.” 

“Okay, so that's number one. Two is I'll always make sure you know where I am so you don’t have to panic like this morning! And we'll try and get you used to not panicking whenever you don't know where I am, too,” he says, a small smile on his face. 

“Yeah, that might be good too,” Lio admits, sheepish. 

“So,” Galo continues, leaning back onto his hands. “Why is living at home your solution?” 

Lio smiles, putting a finger to his lips. “That’s a secret,” he whispers deviously, sweet smile now teasing. After all, he can't very well tell Galo he's decided to spend the rest of eternity giving back to Galo what Galo had given to him, so, it's a secret. 

“Lio, that's so unfair,” he pouts loudly. “I told you my reason, come on man.” 

“I'm sorry Galo, but,” he starts, standing to go fetch his shirt. “You already know too much.” 

And then his feet aren't touching the rock. “Galo put me down!” he shrieks. 

Galo wraps his arms around Lio’s front, then grips his waist lightly, right where it tickles. 

“Galo stop!” Lio yells, laughing breathlessly. “Stop! Plea-please!” he barely breathes out. 

“Not until you tell me why!” Galo replies. 

“Please!” he laughs, not even registering what Galo said. What he does register is being moved closer to the water. “Oh my goodness Galo no!” And then he's shrieking like he's a five year old being tossed into the air. “No no no no no not the water Galo please! Not the water again!” 

And in the midst of his laughs and Galo tickling him, he claws at Galo's arms and tries to spin in his arms, hoping to wrap his legs around Galo so he can't be thrown. “Come on please! My hair just got dry! You won't be able to braid it if it gets wet again!” he yells, gasping for breath between laughing and speaking and toeing at Galo's thighs. 

And then, Galo stops. 

Finally. 

Galo puts him down right at the edge of the rocks and he collapses, catching his breath. A second later Lio’s shirt is thrown onto his head. “Only because I don't want to wet your hair again,” Galo says. “Also, I just realized I'm starving.” 

And then Lio realizes it too. His stomach’s practically meeting his spine for a book club session. “Wow. Me too, actually.” 

And then he looks up and the sun is well behind the mountains. His clothing wasn’t even being hit by sunlight anymore, he notices when he looks over to Galo. Neither of them brought their phone, but if he had to guess it'd be about three or four in the afternoon by now. The last time either of them had anything to eat was maybe seven in the morning. 

“Galo.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Pizza?” 

Galo grins at that. “Hell yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : DDDDDD,
> 
> how was it ?
> 
> we all know galos quite good at talking to people. half the things he says sound so dumb, sometimes, but you know it works. it always works, because galo doesnt think for too long, he wants something and he just does it and it works. so, i really like the idea that he's quite emotionally intelligent, and knows how to handle lio.
> 
> i love that lio can recognize that as well, that theres something who knows how to take care of him, since hes so used to dealing with his thoughts alone. 
> 
> plus, we love healthy relationships where both parties communicate their feelings and leave much happier : DDDD. and i liked giving lio the chance to express his gratitude, and come to terms with the fact that someone can help him, and he can accept it and desire it without feeling guilt.
> 
> anyway, i sincerely hope you enjoyed reading, after all, i write this for all of you : DD, let me know what you liked or even disliked in the comments : D, all are welcome, i love hearing your thoughts. stay healthy everyone : D.
> 
> light a candle --leaf


	4. Shyness of the Crown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nerves, jackets, and a boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : DDDD hello,
> 
> am i late ? i cant tell if im late, but im here. i would like you all to know that BTS is releasing music on August 21st 12am everyone go mark your calendars okay thank you, i will remind u in my next update too : DDDDD. or you can respectfully ignore if you dont like them ahaahahahhahhhaaaaaa.
> 
> anyway on with the chapter : D

There’s been a shift of sorts, in their routine. They no longer spend thirty minutes lazing around on the couch before they have to leave the house. 

Instead, this morning, just like every other morning recently, Lio is sat comfortably at the foot of the couch with Galo above him to do his hair. 

He does it just like he did the braid the first time, but on both sides, and then Lio will loosely tie it up. 

“What’s that for?” Galo asks, when Lio pulls out a bag of files. 

“Remi and I start presentations today, remember?” Lio says, rifling through some of the piles and counting sheets. “I made worksheets for the kids, and some small info booklets for their parents. And this is a printed copy of the presentation for me to panic over on the ride to work,” he says, holding up a thin collection of papers for Galo to see. 

Galo laughs. “You’re gonna do great, you're all prepared and everything.” He starts on the second braid, then. 

“Easy for you to say,” Lio remarks, elbowing Galo’s knee. “I’m the one everyone knows as the leader of the Mad Burnish. I'm basically a professional fire starter lecturing people about fire safety. If there's even one—” he holds up a finger right over his shoulder for emphasis. “—parent in the room, I won’t be taken seriously.” 

Galo pauses his work, grabbing Lio's one finger and twisting. 

“Ah- hey!” Lio yells, yanking it back. He can't exactly turn his head to glare at Galo, but he does pinch his thigh. Galo doesn't even react. 

“You’re doing the school out by 4th today, right?” 

“Yeah, so?” 

“They’re really nice,” Galo says. He pulls on Lio’s hair for emphasis. “I met most of the teachers over the years I did it and they don't tolerate stuff like that. Your name’s been cleared and you’re half of the team that saved the world, right beside yours truly!” And Lio can imagine the thumb Galo points right at himself, grinning with pride. “Besides, they love when the Burning Rescue heads over in general, they'll be glad to have you Lio.” 

Sighing, Lio puts down the presentation outline on the coffee table, leaning back between Galo's legs to rest against the couch. Galo might be doing his hair, but he's a little bit stressed and can definitely feel a headache coming on. 

He thinks back to the time Galo said, in Promepolis, Lio might still be known as the leader of the Mad Burnish, but across the world, he was known as part of the Deus Ex Machina and the plan that saved the planet from both the Promare and magma. 

A part of Lio does feel pride in that. 

He supposes he'll just have to get used to being both. “Goodness,” he says, rubbing a hand down his face. “I'm presenting for a bunch of ten year olds and giving myself an aneurysm over it.” 

Galo, having finished his hair, places two firm hands on Lio's shoulders, squeezing reassuringly. “Sorry I couldn't do it with you. Maybe you'd be less nervous.” 

“No no, it's okay. I'm grateful you asked at all. Besides, the captain’s right,” Lio admits. He leans his head back onto Galo's thigh so he can look up at him. “All of my assignments so far have been private work in the station or with you, I should get used to doing things with other people too,” he says, trying his best to smile. Whether it's to reassure himself or Galo, he doesn't know. 

“Okay then,” Galo says, uncertain. He pushes Lio's longer bangs out of his eyes, and Lio wishes it didn't make his stomach feel even funnier than it already does. “But if Remi acts like a prick you gotta tell me. I'll blast him with a firehose as soon as you guys get back.” 

And finally, Lio laughs. “Galo, Captain would kill you.” 

“Not if Remi kills me first!” 

And Lio can't help but shake his head fondly. 

In the car, Galo steals the bookbag with all the presentation material so Lio can't panic over the outline. Then, after he and Remi have packed all the boxes with shirts and other stationery for the kids, Remi also steals the bookbag, and Lio wonders if he and Galo conspired against him. 

And Galo was right—he usually is when it comes to these things. The teachers and administration were really kind and welcoming even after he introduced himself. Of course, they already knew Remi, which was probably helpful. 

They were led to the library, where three different classes and their teachers were gathered for the morning presentation. When he walked in, with tables and chairs moved to the edges and between bookshelves, the kids were all sat cross legged, huddled together near the centre of the room. 

The sight takes Lio back, to the third burnish settlement he'd ever stayed in. It was swarming with children, even more than the adults. It was that settlement—over the four months he'd stayed there—he decided to use his power to lead. 

He knew he was strong, stronger than most, at least. He knew he had great control over his fire, and he knew he could be powerful. So, seeing the way those kids lived for those months, it was then he'd decided to become the leader of the Mad Burnish. 

These kids are just regular kids, though, who have homes and guardians and regular education, and Lio's grateful for them. 

“Lio.” 

Suddenly brought back to reality, Lio looks at Remi, who’s stood eye level right in front of him. “Oh, uhm, yeah?” he stutters. 

Remi adjusts his glasses, standing up straight again now that Lio’s paying attention. “I’ll talk to the teachers first, explain things with, y’know, you,” he says, running around the word ‘terrorist.’ “So, could you go set up the presentations? I'll call you over when I'm done talking.” 

“Right. Yeah, I can do that,” Lio internally winces at his stumbling. Before he can take a proper step, there's a hand on his shoulder. “Rem-” 

“If anyone says anything about you, even if it's one of the kids, we won't be coming back to this school next year. No one can trash our employees.” 

Lio supposes this is Remi’s way of comforting, and, because he's already on his toes, it flusters him. “Thanks,” he mumbles, and before he can say anything else, Remi’s already left. 

He takes a deep breath, throwing his fireman's jacket over the back of the chair before getting to work. 

The presentation goes well. 

Remi does the first half, discussing school safety, and for the most part, the kids are well-behaved and listen intently. 

When they take a snack break between topics, Lio is sat quietly off to the side and sipping a juice box a kid offered him—he felt silly, but, the gesture was adorable, he didn't want to let the sparkly eyed girl down—and then a little boy comes up asking to wear his jacket. 

Apparently that was a popular request, Galo had told him, and Remi never let him go through with it. But the kid—Tomai, Lio learned—came to him with his teachers permission, so Lio thought it would be okay to let him try it on. And the moment the jacket is zipped up, about fifteen other kids run up, bombarding Lio and the boy. 

“Let me try it on!” 

“Ah—move it Zyla!” 

“Mister Lio can I try it on?!” 

“Go away Niki, I got here first!” 

“Hey no fair Tomai!” 

Ah. 

So that’s why Remi always said no. 

“Really, Lio?” Speak of the devil. 

Lio grimaces. A teacher, Ms. Pyra, kindly tells Lio to step away, apologizing for the rowdy behaviour and handing him his jacket back, before taking control of the students. 

“You never told me that would happen!” Lio whisper-yells as he gets pushed into Remi. 

“I thought no one could be as much of an idiot as Galo!” Remi whisper-yells back. 

“Well you clearly need to rethink those judgement skills of yours—” 

The second half of the presentation—Lio’s half about fire safety at home—goes just as well. 

It was a good idea to let Remi go first, Lio thinks while he speaks, because he saw that there was literally no pressure presenting for children. He also got to see his own work up on the projector, and he feels a little bit of pride in how well it turned out—the kids eyes constantly wandering to the little animations and other fun colours and graphics tells him he succeeded in making it engaging. 

He’s definitely going to boast to Galo about it, considering he hadn't used a computer in years prior to the Burning Rescue. 

So, when he presents, there's no pressure, and the little smiling faces in front of him serve to be quite comforting. At the end of his segment, he and Remi hand out Burning Rescue t-shirts to be passed down each row, and all the kids who were pouting about not getting to wear Lio’s jacket seem pleased. 

“Okay everyone!” he calls over the chattering. “So, we've handed other little knick knacks you guys can take home to your teachers, and make sure you give your parents or guardians the booklets, okay?” 

“Okay!” comes the chorus of replies. 

Lio smiles at them fondly. “Since we still have a little bit of time before lunch, I can take some questions if you want, maybe we can answer some questions from the worksheet together?” he asks, glancing at Ms. Pyra. All the kids follow his line of sight as well, and when she nods, a bunch of little hands shoot up. Lio laughs at the reaction. 

“Mister Lio! Mister Lio~!” a little girl calls, practically falling over the friend in front of her as she sits up to get Lio's attention. 

“No pushing Mira,” her teacher calls, and she shrinks to the floor again. 

“Sorry,” she whispers. 

Lio giggles at the action. “Alright Mira, what’s your question?” he asks sweetly. 

Nothing could prepare him for what he hears. 

“Could you show us how you did your hair?” 

“Uhm—” a bunch of other kids pipe up with ‘yeah!’s and ‘it looks pretty Mister Lio!’ and a chorus of other things. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Lio sees Remi facepalm. 

And then he laughs—quite loudly, actually—and the kids quiet down. “Well, that’s not really a fire safety question, what do you think, Ms. Pyra?” he asks, looking at her. 

“If you don’t answer, they’ll just bug the teachers about it for the rest of the day,” she says, smiling. 

“Alright,” Lio chuckles. “Well, I can't tell you how to do it, since I didn't do it myself—” 

“Who did it?!” someone calls out from the back. 

“Raise your hands, everyone,” a teacher says. 

“It’s alright. Well,” Lio pauses, contemplating how to explain who it was. “Who here has older siblings?” he continues when most of the class raises their hands. “Did anyone hear stories about a Galo Thymos? He used to come here to do these very presentations. He's big,” he says, stretching out his arms as wide as they go. “Su~per big, like this. And he's got big blue hair—” 

And then the class erupts. 

“Ooh ooh I know him!” 

“He did your sisters’ braids that time!” 

“Remember we saw him in the halls before?” 

“Tomai your sister met him!” 

“He carried your brother around the room—” 

The teachers take to calming everyone down again, and Lio smiles at the animated reaction. His stomach flips at the thought that Galo induces love wherever he goes. “So it seems we’ve all heard of him! He did this for me,” he says, pointing to his hair, and for the most nonsensical reasons, he feels his chest swell with both fondness and love. 

Once the debacle is over, they finally do get through some real questions and talk about the worksheet before the lunch bell rings and the teachers round up their classes. They all take turns thanking Lio and Remi before leaving, and then they're taken to a staff room to enjoy a lunch prepared for them. The afternoon presentation for the other three classes goes as well as the morning ones did, and as he and Remi pack their extra shirts and materials back in the car, Lio feels a lot lighter than he did this morning. 

He actually wishes they could have spent more time there. The kids were quite fun and it makes Lio feel good knowing he's doing something for them. 

He knows the Promare needed to burn, he knows it's how he lived and breathed and felt alive and he knows he deserved to feel alive the same way every non-burnish did, but it doesn't erase the fact that he burned peoples homes to the ground. It doesn't dismiss the fact that many people have died in burnish fires, and while he always took pride in never taking lives, he will always know the pain and fear that can come with losing control of the Promare—losing control of fire. 

And so, knowing he's working towards doing good—taking care of other people and helping to keep them safe—makes him proud. 

“I won't have to hide your presentation outline the rest of the week will I?” Remi teases when they’re at a stoplight. 

“Hey,” Lio fakes offense. “But really, you won’t. It was fun, actually.” 

Before Remi can respond, a phone blares loudly and they’re lucky they were at a stoplight, because Remi physically jumps in the driver's seat. And Lio can’t catch his breath after getting scared himself, because now he's laughing at Remi, who grimaces, pulling out his phone. 

He holds it out between them, and Lio's favourite voice pipes out from the small speaker. “Hey Remi, you got Lio with you?” 

“Wow, thanks for calling my phone to ask about Lio, I'm sure he doesn't have his own.” 

“Hey, don't be so prickly, he just wasn't answering!” 

“Sorry Galo! I forgot to turn my phone on after we left the school,” Lio pipes up. 

Remi sighs, and Lio silently giggles. “That answers your question. You're already on speaker too.” 

“Oh. Hey Lio!” Remi decides not to take offense when Galo’s voice is much louder, and instantly more gleeful. “So how'd it go? It wasn’t that bad right?” Galo continues. 

“Not at all, you were right this morning,” Lio says, and then they chat a little bit about what the presentation was like and how Galo's work is going, Remi piping up with commentary or a jab at Galo every once in a while. It's all fun and games right up until Galo asks a certain question. 

“Did any of the kids like you?” 

“Oh yeah,” Remi pipes up. “Your little boyfriend here definitely got in good with the kid he let wear his jacket. And then we had to wait twenty three minutes while everyone stopped fighting each other like monkeys over getting a turn.” 

“B-boyf-” Lio stammers, heat rising to his cheeks. 

“Lio! You actually did that?” 

“Y-yeah, uhm—” Lio’s barely processed anything passed ‘boyfriend’, honestly speaking. 

“Hah! See Remi? I told you it wasn't an idiot move to offer up my jacket! Even Lio did it, and he's definitely not an idiot!” 

“Oh no, he is, but he didn’t start out that way, I think you’re rubbing off on him.” 

“W-wait!” Lio yells, and they both go quiet. Before he actually thinks, Lio grabs Remi’s phone from his hand. 

“Li-” 

“Galo we gotta go now okay? Don’t tire yourself out too much at work!” he yells into the speaker, ending the call before Galo says anything. 

At the next light, Remi grabs his phone back. “What’d you do that—” and then he sees Lio. “Uh, why are you red?” 

“Because you called Galo my boyfriend!” he yells, accusingly pointing a finger at Remi before hiding his face in his hands. 

“That’s because he is your boyfriend,” Remi says slowly, weighing down on the ‘is’. 

Lio groans. “He is no such thing!” 

“What?” Remi asks, incredulous. There's a car beeping behind them, and Remi has to look away from Lio to drive. 

Fucking finally, Lio thinks, able to take a proper breath now without Remi staring down his embarrassing expression. “He’s not my boyfriend,” he repeats, using his inside voice this time. 

“But you like him,” Remi says matter-of-factly. 

“So what?” Lio bites back. And then he slaps a hand over his mouth, belatedly realizing he'd just admitted to liking Galo. 

Out loud. 

To someone else. 

To Remi, of all fucking people. 

“Oh my goodness,” he mutters. “You wouldn’t, perhaps, forget I said that, would you?” he asks quietly, shoulders raised to his ears. 

“Absolutely not.” 

And Lio deflates. “Ugh, but why not?” he pouts. 

“You seriously didn't tell him? I thought you would have, after what happened that morning a couple weeks ago.” 

Lio sighs. “I can't believe I'm talking about my feelings with you,” he mutters, sinking down in his seat. 

“Oh yeah because I'm real happy about it,” Remi bites, rolling his eyes. “Why don't you just get talking so we can get over it?” 

Lio sighs, resigning to the conversation. “I realized I liked him that day. I'm just- not ready to say anything yet.” 

Remi doesn’t respond, at first, and Lio wonders if he’s trying to find the words to tell Lio not to say anything at all, or maybe he needs to break the news that Galo doesn’t like him back. It could be anything, really, and Lio drops his head back against the window, sighing. He’s about to decide to drop the conversation when Remi talks. 

“You should tell him,” he says. 

“What?” Lio says a bit too loud, jumping back up. “Why?! Did he tell you he likes me back or something?” 

“First of all, if Galo liked you it would not be me that he told. He'd realize he liked you and randomly spit it out to you at like 3am,” Remi starts, and Lio laughs. “Secondly, I can't speak on whether he likes you, but it would be good for you, if you told him.” 

“Why?” Lio asks, playing with his fingers. “I mean, there’s just a lot- it just seems like- like so much could go wrong. We live together and work together. I don’t know if it’s fair of me to dump my feelings onto Galo when there’s so much that could change.” 

Remi adjusts his glasses. “What if it changes for the better?” he asks quietly. 

Lio narrows his eyes, not believing what he’s hearing. “Huh?” 

“A year ago you were leading a terrorist group and planning arson attacks. Right now you like a member of the organization that was in charge of stopping you, and sitting in a car with another one, and you’re happy,” he explains, like it’s the easiest thing in the world. “Change can be good.” 

And those words sound so, so uncharacteristic of Remi, Lio realizes something. A terrible grin forms on his features. “Oh my goodness,” he mumbles. “You have a soft spot for me!” he pipes up with glee, playfully punching Remi’s arm. 

“What?!” And the volume of the conversation suddenly takes a turn up. 

“You totally have a soft spot for me!” And Lio’s laughing in a way he definitely shouldn’t be. 

“A soft spo- I don’t- I don’t have that!” Remi sputters, pointedly staring out the windshield, two hands on the wheel. 

“Awh,” Lio coos, drawing it out. “Look at you stumbling over your words, you totally have one.” He grins, gripping the edge of his seat with nimble fingers. 

“Lio,” Remi says, voice suddenly very calm and serious. “You have to understand. I could literally stop at this random curb and kick you out of the car, and Captain wouldn’t bat an eye.” 

“I know,” Lio says, a little too self-satisfied. “But I also know you love being right. So you have to understand how good I feel right now knowing that I’m right.” And he’s beyond smug. He’s probably pushing his limits a little bit, but resting his head back onto his hands, he feels great, so screw it. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Lio spots Remi facepalming, and he bites his lip to avoid laughing again. 

Then, they ride for a bit in silence, and Lio’s quite glad he ended up having to do the assignment with Remi. 

Today had been the first time he felt he could actually get along with his coworkers—well, at least Remi for sure. So far, he’s felt like an outsider—after all, he was someone who was an enemy to these people. He’d hurt them and caused them endless trouble, and at the end of the day, it was his fault Galo was thrown in jail, and his fault they had so much bad rep a couple months ago. 

Lio had to think that Remi, who has worked with Galo for much longer and must have grown fond of him over time, would tell Lio it was unfair of him to expect Galo to accept his feelings. He’d think Remi might want to keep Galo out of Lio’s reach, and the same went for the rest of the station. But, here Remi was, encouraging it, even suggesting Lio tell Galo if it made him happy. 

Remi cared about him. 

That felt nice. 

And maybe the others do too. 

“You want me to drop you at your place? We’re basically off the clock now, I can return the car myself,” Remi says as they approach their neighbourhood. 

‘Your place,’ Remi said. Lio smiles. “Oh, actually,” he starts. “Could you stop at the central bus terminal instead?” 

Remi glances at him, then. “Going somewhere?” 

“Ah,” Lio says, sheepish. “Yeah, kinda. Just, visiting some people.” 

“Alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shyness of the Crown: Crown shyness is a phenomenon observed in some tree species, in which the crowns of fully stocked trees do not touch each other, forming a canopy with channel-like gaps.
> 
> ••• 
> 
> so it's lio and remi supremacy hours everyone. 
> 
> this is how we dO things : DDD, my man is prickly and annoying but he has a soft spot for our resident terrorist and he cant do shit about it. i thought itd be nice to have this little lighthearted chapter to showcase how lio feels about meeting people and how he learns to work with people who arent galo. 
> 
> also i like remi, so.
> 
> so what did you think ? where do you think lios going ? whats gonna happen to him hmmmmmmm : D ? dont hesitate to leave comments on your thoughts, ill get around to replying to you all, ik im sucking at that rn, but i hope you know i truly appreciate all the support youve all shown me so far, and ill continue to provide with this fic, we dont disappoint in my house : DD.
> 
> eat carrots --leaf


	5. Filled to the Brim With the Warmth of an Inferno

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wrong directions, gratitude, and a blanket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : DDD hello,
> 
> i currently have four wips including this one and honestly i cannot do this yall, tell me why i gave myself all this shit to do on my semester off. i get that i cant really leave my house but likE this is so non-ideal.
> 
> also, who's seen monster ? the 74 ep anime lol. i just started it and its so sexy yall i cannoT its amazing. anyway,
> 
> enjoy chapter, i really, really love this one a lot, so i hope you do too : D.

Lio’s lost. 

He’s sure—absolutely, positively, whole-heartedly sure—he took the exact same route back home as he did to the shelter. 

But instead of standing in front of his apartment, he’s in the middle of the city. 

See, it wasn’t that he didn’t know the stops he needed to take, no. He and Galo had taken the bus across the city multiple times instead of the car, just to make sure Lio got used to the system and could use it on his own without getting lost. They made sure to do that, so yes, Lio knows his stops and knows which busses to take. 

He does. 

So, of the three total busses it takes to get home from where he is, he was sat on the second one, counting down the stops until his would be called, just like every other person. He wasn’t sleeping, or staring into space, or playing music too loudly, or doing anything but keeping his eye on the time to make sure he could catch the next bus. No, he wasn’t. 

So when he didn’t hear his stop when it was supposed to be called, he thought, well, he must have just accidentally zoned out. Maybe they’d get there eventually, maybe the bus was just taking an alternate route because of traffic. 

So, like a dumbass, he stayed on the bus. 

Then, like an even bigger, more stubborn dumbass, he stayed on until the end of the line because he refused to believe he was on the wrong bus, and was absolutely sure they’d reach the stop he was expecting to hear over the system. 

He had made a grave mistake, then, because they definitely did not make it to his stop. 

And so, it is now dark, and late, and he’s hungry, very sleepy, and very, very lost. 

Also, it’s cold. 

He thinks the universe is playing a cruel joke on him, because it’s been nothing but hot all month and autumn isn’t due for at least two weeks and it was really hot this morning. 

But here he is, cars revving by and people talking too loudly and streetlights shining blindingly bright, standing on the sidewalk in thin pants and a black t-shirt while the clouds above move much too fast for a summer night. 

And it’s cold. 

He has no clue what to look for, so he walks until he finds a bench and curls into himself, pulling out his phone to find out where he is and if he can get home. 

Goodness, couldn’t he have just taken his fireman’s jacket with him at least? 

So, because this night is totally in his favour, he cannot actually get home on his own at the moment. Any bus running towards his neighbourhood from where he is doesn’t run at the current hour. 

And it’s only 9:37, what kind of city bus stops that early? Yeah maybe he’s a little too far from home, but come on. 

“Ugh, what the fuck,” he mumbles, rubbing a hand over his face in distress. 

The thought to call Galo crosses his mind, but he has an eighteen hour shift today which means he won’t be getting off until 2am, so he wouldn’t pick up the phone right now, let alone come to get Lio. 

But, Galo’s pretty much the only option he has at the moment. “He’s gonna be so tired after working all day, though,” he whispers to himself. He bites his lip, feeling guilty that he’s gotten himself into this. 

He decides to walk. 

If he can get to a place further away from the city quick enough, maybe there’ll be busses running back home from there. 

For the most part, he does okay, although the longer he’s out the colder his arms and feet get, and he can barely feel his nose. 

As he walks, he undoes the ponytail and braids in his hair, hoping that having it fall over his ears will keep them warm. He walks for just over an hour before he gets so cold he caves and hides in a random store. 

He rubs his fingers together, pressing them on the warmth on the back of his neck and then onto his cheeks. It doesn’t do much, but maybe if he thinks it works, he’ll trick himself into feeling warmer or something. He doesn’t stay long because it looks like the place is about to close, and continues on his way. 

It sucks a little bit, but he’s dealt with worse before. 

At least, then, he’d never felt so cold. 

Honestly, Lio was probably annoying as hell in winter because he wouldn’t stop complaining about it being too cold. He snuck a peak at Galo’s bills once back when he couldn’t pay, and found that the heating bill had practically tripled. Galo hadn’t said a word. 

Frankly, Lio hadn’t been too surprised, seeing as Galo was basically a personal heater. 

Since then, Lio had taken to piling on sweaters and blankets and socks instead of turning up the heat. 

He didn’t think the cold would affect him so much—it wasn’t as though he’d never experienced a winter without the Promare. Just, after a decade, he kind of got used to the constant warmth in his chest—the shield he always had to the elements. 

With it gone, the air couldn’t feel any colder. 

He tries to suck it up. He does. But when he feels raindrops on his nose, he wants to run back into that store and buy a blanket and cuddle into a corner until Galo can get him in his toasty warm car. 

He doesn’t, of course, but he certainly wants to. 

He keeps walking, one step at a time even as the rain starts pouring, his arms and feet going numb and his ears practically ringing. He keeps sniffling and his head is cold and not only is his pretty hair undone, it’s also wet and droopy and freezing against his neck. 

But he keeps walking, because if he waits the rain out, he won’t make it to the last bus that’ll get him a bit closer to home. 

“Goodness,” he mutters under the rain. “I’m so fucking glad it’s raining right now. This is so great.” 

And he’s this close to slipping when his phone rings and scares the life out of him. He runs into another random shop, ignoring the looks some employees shoot him as he drips onto their floor. He pulls out his phone, wiping down the screen as well as he can on his sopping clothing. 

The screen reads Galo. 

He almost drops the damn thing answering the call. “Galo?!” 

“Oh good you’re still awake! Listen,” Galo starts enthusiastically. 

Just hearing his voice makes Lio feel warm. “Wait, Galo,” he interrupts. “Aren’t you still working?” 

“Oh yeah, Captain said I could leave early since I helped out the other week. It’s pretty slow right now anyway so,” he mumbles after. “So listen! I had an idea—” 

“Wait, Galo—” 

“Lio~ lemme talk,” Galo pouts, and Lio finally finds it in himself to laugh. 

“I’m sorry Galo, but you need to know, I’m kind of… not home, right now,” he mumbles. 

“What? It’s almost midnight! What do you mean you’re not home? Are you with Meis or Guiera?” 

And Lio sighs loudly. He damn wishes he were with Meis or Guiera. “Galo,” he practically whines. 

“Yeah?” 

“I’m such an idiot.” And Lio can perfectly picture the face Galo’s making. 

“What?! I thought I was the idiot! Don’t call yourself an idiot! You’re so smart!” 

Galo sounds almost offended at what Lio says, and he’s so, so glad Galo called, because he feels so much better already. “Galo.” 

“Yeah?” 

“I’m lost.” 

“Huh?” 

Lio sighs, readying his explanation. “Seeing all the kids at school today made me miss all the Burnish kids at the new shelters. I went to visit some of them today after work,” he begins, a hand pressing on his stressed forehead. “I guess I took the wrong bus, ‘cause I’m in some random place in the city and the busses I need aren’t running anymore,” he pouts. Galo, hearing that tone in Lio’s voice, probably really wants to see his face right now, Lio thinks. 

Lio doesn’t usually pout. 

Galo once said he found it adorable. 

“Lio, you should have just called me!” 

“But you were working.” He purses his lips, running a hand through his dripping hair. 

“I could have sent Remi or something, he was just buzzing off on the couch after he got back!” He pointedly huffs, then, apparently loud and distressed enough that Lio can hear it through the phone, and Lio laughs. “Hey!” Galo calls. “This is no time for giggles. I’m off now so I’m gonna come get you. Where are you?” 

There’s some rustling on his end, so Lio assumes he’s quite literally on his way out the door. “Just a forewarning, but I’m completely sopping, so you might want to put a towel on the seat.” 

“Lio!” And it sounds like Galo’s scolding him. 

It’s cute. “I’ll send you my location over text okay?” 

Galo sighs. “Alright, but go stand under a heater or something okay?!” 

“Okay. I will, so don’t worry anymore and get your butt over here,” he says. 

He can hear the smile in Galo’s voice. “Be there soon!” 

The place he walked into is apparently open for 24 hours, which Lio’s grateful for. He tries to be discreet as he walks around to find a place to sit, but that seems to be hard when he’s dripping all over the floor the employee near him is trying to clean, so he opts for just kneeling on the ground. 

It takes quite a while for Galo to get there, but when he does show up, Lio’s basically scooped off the ground and into a giant hug, feet dangling and arms crushed and all. He tries not to blush, but he knows the few people in the store are staring, so he hides his face in Galo’s shoulder for the moment. 

Galo stopped by the apartment, apparently, so Lio gets to towel off and change into actual dry, warm clothes in the restroom before Galo leads him to the car. 

“Wait,” he says, pulling on Galo’s arm just before he opens the driver’s door. “Let me drive.” 

“Lio, you’re frozen and dying, I’m not letting you drive.” 

“First of all, I’m not dying,” Lio says, poking Galo’s chest at the word ‘dying’. “And second of all, aren’t you tired?” 

“I’m a firefighter Lio of course I’m not tired. These hours are nothing. Besides, I was slacking and took a nap a little while ago anyway.” 

Lio doesn’t back down, and they have a little stare down under their umbrella. Galo looks at him sternly. “Lio.” He says it in that same scolding voice from earlier, and it’s so cute Lio finds his resolve wearing down already. It’s not like Galo’s wrong, he does look like he has the energy. 

So he takes the umbrella from Galo and sighs. “Fine,” he says. “But only because you said you took a nap.” 

There’s a few blankets waiting for him in the passenger seat, and he graciously wraps them around him before putting on his seatbelt, and Galo, bless him, puts on the heater too. 

The ride is long and quite slow, given the dangerous driving conditions, and Lio finds himself staring. 

Goodness.

Everyday Lio gets more and more proof that he’s absolutely enamoured. 

Looking at Galo like this—with the lights periodically flashing by and his hands firmly gripping the wheel and his eyes focused, with the sound of rain slapping against the windows and the smell of it clinging to Lio and the feeling of Galo’s arms lingering around his waist—Lio thinks he would do anything for Galo. 

He can feel the twitch in his hands already—the desire to love welling up. 

See, Lio is used to being on the run. He’s used to going from camp to camp. He’s used to forgetting faces because he never had time to look at them. He’s used to people that only trust each other because they only have each other to turn to. He’s used to being forced into making choices and difficult decisions without having time to think. He’s used to being the one who bears the guilt and burdens of hundreds of people. He’s used to always running warm. He’s used to violence being how he wins fights. He’s used to a constant, terrifying rage burning in his chest. He’s used to living his life on his toes. 

But Galo, oh with Galo, Lio is firmly in place. 

Galo is a constant. 

With Galo, he can take three days to decide if he wants Galo to buy mangoes, and it wouldn’t be the slightest problem. With Galo, every decision he has to make is so easy, because Galo doesn’t let him sit in his head for too long and complicate it, no, Galo would never do that. 

With Galo, he’s had the time to trust, because Galo saved his enemy and then he chose to give him a home and continue to take care of him, and Lio trusts him with his life. With Galo, he never has to bear the weight of a city on his shoulders, because Galo always takes the weight with him—because Galo gives him hugs and tells him they can work on it together. 

With Galo, he’s learned what it feels like to be cold, and with Galo, he never has to run cold forever, because Galo will give him his big fireman’s jacket, or give him warm socks, or his own body heat. With Galo, the burning in his chest is never from rage or anger, nor does it terrify him, because the burn in his chest is from love. 

When he’s with Galo, all Lio feels is love. 

And it’s a love so strong, so sturdy and warm that he can’t bear to keep it in his chest. He can’t because it swells and there’s no longer enough room to house it, so it spills over into his stomach, which flips and twists and turns whenever Galo looks at him a certain way. 

It spills into his hands, which itch to run through Galo’s hair whenever he falls asleep on the couch, curled into a ball for his big body to fit. 

It spills into his feet that curl in his slippers whenever he and Galo step out onto the fire escape on a nice evening. 

It spills into his cheeks and nose, which go bright pink when Galo gives him compliments. 

And right now, looking at Galo—looking at the person Lio has decided he would do anything for—his love does just that. His whole body goes warm, not from the blankets, no, but from a love that wells up in every part of him, from his toes to his fingertips to his cheeks until it has nowhere to go but out. 

And goodness it feels like the Promare all over again—an unstoppable flame that constantly screamed to burn out, constantly wished for more and more and more until Lio had burned over a hundred towns to the ground. Screamed until Lio had completed their combustion by burning the entire world and the sun and solar system combined. They had never ceased—it was a constant fight to spill out of the confines of Lio’s small body, to be bigger and burn hotter and stronger and it always, always craved more. 

And Lio could never satisfy it. 

But this love that he feels, oh it burns, and it burns big and bright and strong and it, too, begs for freedom. But, with Galo by his side, it’s never too much. With Galo being the reason, he never wants it to stop growing. 

The love in his chest spills into every part of his body until there’s not a millimetre of room left and then it wants out, but, with Galo, it’s enough. Knowing he has Galo by his side, knowing he can always love Galo—whether it’s silently or loud enough that all four billion people on the planet know about it, he can still love Galo. 

He can still remain by Galo's side and make him happy and give him everything he’ll ever want. 

That thought alone is enough for Lio. It’s enough when he knows that the love he has will remain constant and never-ending. 

Goodness. 

Galo’s amazing. 

And Lio doesn’t know what to do. 

He’s in love, how could he? 

He’s so in love with Galo it hurts. He wants to tell him. Whether it’s with the words on the tip of his tongue or the tears filling his eyes or his hands that twitch with the desire to wander he doesn’t know, but he wants to tell him. 

Because, of all things Lio didn’t have time to learn while he was Burnish, he did learn that love is meant to be shared. And he wants, more than anything, to share love with Galo. 

He wants to share that—by the moon’s eternal orbit, from every alternate dimension in the universe and back—Galo is loved, and it is Lio that loves him so. 

And damn him—damn Lio that he can’t find the words to express it. 

“I can feel you staring,” Galo says. 

And, oh. It’s that quiet voice again. 

Lio smiles. He brings his feet up on his seat, hugging them to his chest so his knees can serve as a pillow. He keeps staring. “Good,” he says softly. 

“Why are you staring?” Galo asks. 

And Lio sighs. “I don’t suppose you’d be okay with me apologizing for causing this problem, would you?” 

Galo huffs. “Of course I wouldn’t.” 

“You’re amazing, Galo,” Lio let’s slip, quiet, warm affection spilling into his voice. He says it, but only because he needs to lessen the pressure in his chest before it begins to ache. 

“What?” Galo asks, so innocently, wonderfully curious. 

“Thank you,” Lio says instead of explaining. 

“Huh? Why? Lio you’re barely making sense.” 

“Galo,” he whispers. He wonders if Galo can hear the fondness in his voice. 

“Yeah?” 

“Half the things I say don’t make sense to you the first time,” he says with a quiet giggle. 

“True,” Galo admits, and there’s the slightest smile on his cheeks. 

“Galo,” Lio says again, just as quietly. 

“Yeah Lio?” 

“I said thank you because I want to be grateful for the things you do for me, instead of sorry that I made you do them. You like that more, right?” And then Galo grins—his cheeks form the cutest pillows, too, and Lio wants to poke them. Instead, he smiles back, and hopes Galo knows, somewhere deep inside, that Lio smiles at him with the warmest of affection. 

“Yeah, I like that a lot more,” Galo says. 

For the first time during their journey, they come to a stop at a red light, and Galo looks at him. 

Lio doesn’t bother moving. If Galo figures out what the look in his eyes mean, so be it, and if he doesn’t, Lio will tell him, eventually. So, he keeps his eyes trained on Galo, looking right into his big blue ones, and his little hands tighten around his legs. 

The light turns green, and Galo looks away. 

Lio uncurls, then, stretching and running his fingers through his slightly-damp hair. “So,” he begins. “On the phone you said you had an idea.” 

“Oh yeah!” Galo pipes up, returning to his normal volume. “So we were talking about your hair at work—” 

“Wait what?” Lio interrupts mid-stretch, suddenly mortified. “Why would you- why was everyone talking about that?” 

“I don’t know it just came up.” Galo shrugs his shoulders in nonchalance. “Anyway, I was thinking. If your hair gets so annoying, why don’t you just cut it short? If you don’t like it you can just grow it back out, right?” 

“O-oh,” Lio mutters. “I've never had a haircut before,” he says. 

“Are you being serious right now? Aren’t you like, twenty-five?” 

Lio flusters. “H-hey! There aren’t any salons in camps okay? I just hacked it off at the ends when it got too long,” he explains, instinctively playing with the ends of the long, mint strands of hair. 

“Oh,” Galo says. “What about before you had your Promare?” 

“My mom,” he mumbles, hands falling into his lap. He plays with his fingers, tightening his blanket around his small frame with a tender smile. “She would do it for me every once in a while. I always kept it long, though.” 

“Well,” Galo starts. “Do you want to cut it short?” he asks, glancing at Lio when they reach a stop sign. 

Lio leans back against the door, eyes following Galo’s movements. Then he pulls a longer strand of hair in front of him, eyes crossing slightly when he zeroes in on it. He purses his lips, pulling down the sun visor to look himself in the small mirror. 

This is the face he’s been used to for years. 

The edges of his hair may have always been a little more jagged than they look now—having grown and evened out over the months—but this is what he’s had his entire life. He’d be lying if he said he weren’t a little bit attached to the style—it suits him, after all. 

But it’s like Galo said—if he didn’t like the short hair, he could always grow it out again. 

He pulls all the hair back into his hand, leaving out his bangs, just to re-test how he feels and looks with it out of his face. 

It’s nice, of course, although it’s a different story having it all gone, rather than just tied up. 

But, it wouldn’t hurt to try, would it? 

His lips curl upward just slightly. 

He shuts the mirror, and the little light flickers off. He sighs, pushing the visor back up to lean back against the door again. 

His body lurches as Galo parks in their designated spot. “Yeah,” Lio says. “Yeah, I wanna try cutting it short.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahahha : DDDD,
> 
> so i really ran with the idea that lio is literally,,,, overflowing with love. like he feels so much love he doesnt even know where to begin to express it, he just knows he wants to at some point. i thought itd be interesting to compare that to the feel of the promare - the feeling of a constant desire to burn because the promare willed for it, vs the feeling of never wanting this love he feels for galo to stop burning, because he himself wills for it. i thought it was an interesting contrast i could make, since we know lios will to burn was always influenced by the promares will. ofc, lios actions in the film can be interpreted in other ways, but i really wanted to contrast these two things.
> 
> also, idk what happened but my brain kinda really worked when i wrote the part of his love overflowing lmao, like idk how that happened but reading it back im like wow this is peak paper lanterns, never written any shit better than this. 
> 
> btw, any one take a crack at why its titled paper lanterns ? i actually agonized over the title for so long lmao, i really love it, it fits the tone of the story well.
> 
> okay ill shut up aaahhahah i hope you enjoyed this chapter. the fic is slowly but surely coming to an end, and i hope i can continue to please you all. dont hesitate to leave comments on things you liked and the such, it motivates me so much and honestly makes my day. thank you all so much for reading, and stay healthy : DDD.
> 
> take a nap --leaf


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